Bring Her Home
by Atlas FF
Summary: It has been 3 years since the disbansion of the PAW Patrol and the mysterious disappearance of Everest. Since then they have met once a year on the date of her disappearance. Chase thought that she was gone forever until he is given information about her. But what happens next could change his life forever. (GAY PAIRING INVOLVED, 1 RATED M SCENE)(DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ IT)
1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful day in Adventure Bay, and it was the three year mark when the Paw Patrol had gone their separate ways. Marshall had founded an all dogs Fire Crew in Chicago and was the Fire Marshall, tackling fires across the city. Rocky joined a team of conservationists trying to the trees in the Amazon, using his buildings skills to ward off illegal loggers. Skye became a stunt pilot with her best friend, Ace Soarinsen, and flew all over the world, performing air shows. Rubble left with his digger and became a contractor in California, remodeling homes of famous actors. Zuma went to school and got a bachelor's degree in Marine Biology and became a marine biologist in Seattle. Chase took his skills in being a cop and joined the LAPD SWAT team raiding drug houses and putting the bad guys behind bars. However, Everest went missing a month before the team disbanded. That whole month the team spent looking for her, ended up being for nothing. They did not find a single clue and one by one they left. Ryder continued to live in Adventure Bay helping those in need. He and Katie now lived together in the lookout.

 **With Ryder...**

Ryder woke from his sleep, looking over at his sleeping girlfriend

She is really pretty when she sleeps. Thought Ryder

Getting the courage to get out of bed, Ryder got up and went into the kitchen.

His phone vibrated and he reached over to grab it.

"It's a calendar notification, the reunion is tomorrow."

Ryder was overwhelmed with joy but faded when he remembered one thing

Everest won't be here, he thought as a tear rolled down his cheek.

He went to the top floor and looked out towards the sea

"Everest, where are you?"

 **With Marshall...**

"Job well done, guys, get your gear sorted and get some rest," said Marshall. "You never know when the next call will come in."

Marshall looked at his crew of firemen and thought, _I made a damn good tea_ m, _but I miss my old team._ Tears began to form in his eyes.

Ford, one of Marshall's lieutenants, walked up to him and saw the sad look on his chiefs face.

"Why the long face, boss?"

Wiping the tears away, Marshall looked at his lieutenant.

"It's nothing. You should get some rest."

"If you say so, you know where to find me."

Ford turned towards the sleeping quarters

Marshall remained in the garage. _I have a reunion that I got to go to tomorrow._ The thought of seeing his friends again made him smile.

 _I wish it was all my friends._ As he turned towards his office to fill out a report.

 **With Skye...**

Skye was flying her brand new modified stunt plane. It was a projected she had been working on for months. She heard Ace come up on the radio

"How is she handling, Skye?" Said Ace curiously. Ace had always had a curiosity for new things especially when it comes to airplanes.

"She's handling like a dream." Ace giggled at the comment."I am so glad to finally have this baby flying."

"I bet you are, do you think it will be ready for the show in a few weeks?"

"I hope so, I'd be very disappointed otherwise."

"Hey, don't forget about the reunion you have tomorrow." Ace added,"I bet they will be happy to see you after such a long time."

Skye was one of the members to leave the team. She held on to her hope that they would find Everest. But when Ryder officially called off the search, she felt devastated, guilty and sorry that she couldn't find her best friend. She called Ace and asked if she could live with her. Ace was more than excited to have Skye stay with her.

"Yeah, I hope so too." _I have to stay strong, and have hope,_ she thought to herself. "Ace, I'm bringing her in. I should probably get packed ready for tomorrow. I got a long flight."

"Copy that, I'll see you on the ground shortly, Ace out."

 **With Rocky...**

Adjusting to Amazon life was difficult for Rocky, due to the fact that it rained a lot. Rocky still hated water but not as much when he was a little pup. He had come down to the Amazon Rainforest, with his conservationists group, to stop illegal logging. They were really successful due to Rocky's crafting abilities. He made traps and sensors to help capture loggers and put them in jail. They still had a lot of work to do.

"Hey Rocky, can you give me a hand...I mean paw with this," giggled Zoe, one of the head conservationists. She looked in his direction and saw Rocky looking at some monitor that showed the sensors he had put up. She was amazed at what a beautiful dog he was. _He is really handsome for a mix breed._

"Sure, what do you need," he said turning his head revealing his face with stunning orangish-brown eyes.

"I was just getting t-these dr-drones set up," she was taken back by how handsome he was but pressed on. "You know, so we can scan for loggers from the skies, but I'm having trouble getting the drones to connect to the monitors."

"Let me see what I can do to help," be said grabbing one of the drones and opening its sensor box."ah ha, here is your problem," showing Zoe the problem. "You did not have it on the right frequency."

They changed the frequency on the drones to the correct frequency on the monitors and the lights on the drones turned green,showing that they were connected.

"Looks like they are all connected, I want these drones in the air as soon as possible," he said as he turned toward his truck.

"Where are you going?"

"To the airport, I have a reunion with some old friends," he said as he got into the truck."I want constant updates on the drones and the loggers. I'll be back in a week." Turning the key to his truck, the engine roared awake and Rocky drove off towards the airport.

 _I can't wait to see my friends again, if only all of them were there._

 **With Rubble...**

Rubble always liked to build buildings, but only recently had he found an interest in contracting and became a contractor. When he was fully acquainted with the procedures and codes he became a master. He had already remodeled homes for actors and singers like Adam Levine and Dwayne Johnson. He was even awarded $100,000 for being the best contractor in the business. With the money, he founded Paws Contractors and from there, he and his expert team of contractors made millions off of it. They were currently building an office tower.

"Hey Rubble, can you come check out this support, it looks out of place but I can't tell."

"Of course, I will," said the English Bulldog rushing over to his man. He looked at the support and his building plans multiple times. "You're right, it is out of place. it's supposed to be a foot to the left. Good spot, Joe."

"Thanks Rubble, I'm guessing you want me to move that then."

"If you can, please, that would be great." His belly rumbled. _I must be pretty hungry,_ he thought as he laughed to himself.

 **A few hours later...**

Rubble got on his radio,"alright everyone, it's time to bring it in. Good job today. We are getting even closer to finishing this project." He took a breath."I will see you all in about a week, I got a personal trip to go on. In the meantime, I am leaving Joe in charge. He will keep me posted on a daily basis. Keep up the work." He heard goodbyes come through the radio and left the site in his truck to head to the airport.

 _Now it's time to see the gang again, only part of it though_

 **With Zuma...**

Zuma always had a fascination for sea life, from the moment he first went to the sea as a young pup. He promised himself one day that he would work where was water. After he left the Paw patrol he went to school and got a degree in Marine Biology and turned it into a career. He set up shop in Seattle, Washington and has worked there ever since. He focused primarily on the orca whale pods in the bay but always kept his options of study open.

Zuma was on his boat in the bay looking through his binoculars trying to find a particular pod. Specifically pod 19,which, had a pregnant female that refused to migrate south to warmer waters. Suddenly his boat was struck and Zuma nearly fell in. He looked over and recognized, Bo, the matriarch of pod 19.

"Hey, Bo, where is the baby," throwing a salmon into Bo's gaping mouth.

He heard a blowhole behind him and turned to see the female with her new baby calf swimming next to her.

"I thought you were a goner, little guy," as he reached out and hopped the baby would pop up and touch his paw. The little whale hid behind his mother, which Zuma understood.

 _He doesn't know who I am,_ he thought _._

 _"_ Thats okay, you will get to know me soon enough," throwing a salmon into his mother's mouth.

Zuma looked down at his clipboard and checked off boxes. After feeling satisfied with his report, he waved goodbye to his whale friends and headed back to port.

"I gotta get my bag packed, my flight is in five hours." He had his bag packed and ready to go.

As he was heading out the door, he saw a picture of him and Everest sitting together on the Paw Patroller, both of which had a smile on their face. He held back tears of the beautiful memory and left his apartment and headed for the airport. When he was settled into his seat he thought to himself.

 _Everest, where did you go?_

 **With Chase...**

Like his father before him, Chase always wanted to be like his dad and become a police officer. After his father was killed in the line of duty, it gave Chase all the more reason to up and join the force. But it wasn't easy. Chase struggled in his classes at the academy and always was thinking about his deceased father and how he was going to make him proud. When graduation came around, Chase graduated but was assigned to traffic duty. He didn't like it but it still meant he was a cop. He was later recruited into the Paw Patrol and became a full time cop.

After the team disbanded, Chase went home to Los Angeles, to live with his mom and siblings. There,Chase joined the LAPD SWAT team and helped the city when it needed it. Chase wasn't the only dog on the SWAT team. He joined up with, Atlas, another male German shepherd about his age. They were the best of friends and partners as well. Today was drug bust day.

"Hey Chase, you look lost. Something on your mind," asked Atlas with a worried look on his face.

"It's just that, I have a reunion tomorrow and I haven't seen my friends in a while."

"Hey, cheer up buddy, they will be happy to see you. At least most of them will be able to show it."

Chase knew what Atlas was saying. He had told him about the Paw Patrol and how Everest went missing. Atlas always supported Chase when he thought negatively about the outcome of the search for Everest.

"I wish I had searched harder and maybe I would have found her, but for all I know she is dead and all I can do is mourn." A tear began to form in his eye and he sniffed, trying to keep himself composed.

Atlas to was nearly crying. He never liked to see his best buddy cry, it made him emotional every time. He put a paw around Chase's neck and hugged him.

"Keep it together, we got a drug bust to take care of," he said cocking his rifle.

Chase smiled,"you're damn right we do," cocking his gun as well, but the thought of his friends still swelled in his mind.

 _I promise that I will find you Everest, in this world or the next. I will come back for you, my love._

 _ **Wow, that was an amazing first chapter. Hope you guys like it as well. I plan on trying to get a chapter out at least every few days, depends on how well ideas flow through my head. If you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments.**_  
 _ **(FYI: I AM NOT DOING ANY MATING SCENES, BUT THAT IS DUE TO POSSIBLY CHANGE, I DON'T KNOW YET)**_


	2. Chapter 2

THIS CHAPTER IS GOING TO FOCUS ON THE DRUG BUST MENTIONED IN THE LAST CHAPTER. SORRY IF IT WAS NOT WHAT YOU WERE EXPECTING, BUT I WANT TO MAKE THE BEST OF THIS STORY. I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME INPUT ON WHERE EVEREST WENT. IF YOU CAN LEAVE AN IDEA IN THE COMMENTS, I WILL GO THROUGH THEM AND PICK THE BEST ONE, THAT I BELIEVE WILL WORK BEST WITH THE STORY. I WILL ALSO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THE OWNER OF THE BEST IDEA SO GIVE ME ALL YOU GOT. THANKS A LOT YOU GUYS!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE PAW PATROL

With Chase…..

Doing a final check on his rifle, Chase heard the SWAT commander through the headset.

"Okay boys, we have one shot at this raid. If we fail, then our target will escape and we will not find him."

The other SWAT members exchanged worried glances knowing that if they failed then the commander would have their asses.

Chase exchanged a worried look with Atlas, who returned the worried look.

"We will get him and put him in jail or in the ground," said Atlas, giving reassurance to the rest of the team. "I am fine with both of those options."

"This is HQ, you will be arriving at the compound, ETA two mikes."

Chase gave one final look at his gear to make sure he was really set. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw he got a message from Ryder. The message asked if he was coming to the reunion tomorrow. Before he could respond, the headset came back on.

"Thirty seconds, be ready."

Chase quickly stowed his phone in his pocket and zipped it shut. I'll message him back when this is all over. Looking towards Atlas, Chase saw how calm and collected the Shepherd was.

Atlas looked back at Chase," Your fly is down," he said with a giggle.

Feeling towards his crotch, he found that Atlas was right and zipped it up. The rest of the guys laughed and chases face went red in embarrassment. He chuckled himself at how silly he was for checking everything but his own baggage.

"Checking me out there, Atlas," Chase retorted." I did not know you felt that way towards me."

Before Atlas could respond, the SWAT van was peppered with gunfire

"GET US OUT OF HERE," yelled one of the guys towards the front.

"We can't engage them here; we will get cut down," said one of the others

Chase could see where the rounds had hit. The SWAT van was bulletproof but it still was not the best place for them if someone shot at them with a rocket launcher. Quickly thinking Chase yelled, "GET US BEHIND A BUILDING SO WE CAN DISEMBARK."

"Copy that," said the driver as he turned towards a building.

"Open the doors," said chase," We are jumping."

"Come again Chase," said Atlas in a shocked voice." Did you say that we were going to jump?"

"Yes I did."

Atlas looked skeptical

"If the van doesn't show itself at the other side of the building, then they will focus fire on the building and we will not be able to go anywhere," explained Chase." If the van were to keep going, then we could jump out and they will assume we are still in the van."

Everyone still seemed skeptical but nodded in agreement.

Chase opened the van doors exposing the street

"Get ready to jump. Two at a time. Driver go slower we are jumping out. When you clear the building speed back up and continue to draw fire"

"Roger that, slowing down."

As soon as the van slowed, Chase yelled, "GO, GO, GO," hitting them in the back to get them moving. When it came to the last two guys he put his paw up. "You two stay with the van and keep the enemies drawn towards you."

"Yes sir," said both the guys in unison as Chase jumped from the van and rolled to avoid injury.

Being dogs, Chase and Atlas wore special pup packs that had a rifle on one side and a pair of cuffs on the other. The rifle was a M4 variant designed to fit their packs specifically. It was self loading and the pack could hold about 200 rounds of 5.56. The way they were shot was through a pair of high tech goggles.

The goggles were just like the standard issue goggles the rest of the team had. These ones had a built in screen with all sorts of data like how many rounds had been shot, how many rounds that the pack had left and many others. There was a reticule to show where his rounds would be firing. The weapon only fired at hostiles firing at him and would not shoot friendlies due to the recognition system.

Chase and Atlas led the way towards the buildings back door.

"Prepare for a breach and clear," as he pulled out a wire camera from his vest pocket. "Let me check to make sure the coast is clear first."

Sliding the wire camera under the door, he signaled Atlas to turn on the tablet so they could see any possible threats on the other side. The tablet showed that there were no threats on the other side of the door, so Chase pulled the wire camera out from under the door and tucked it back into his vest.

Hearing the gunfire in the background, "okay boys, stack up."

The men surrounded the door on each side and prepared to bust it down. "three….two….one, breach now." The first guy through the door was Atlas with Chase taking up the rear.

Chase immediately went towards the front of the building and took up position near one of its large windows. Atlas was right behind him covering his rear.

He looked over his shoulder at Chase, "What's the plan, Chase?"

"Seeing as the SWAT van is doing a very good job at distracting the hostiles across the street, we are going to get as close as we can and open fire on them and take them by surprise."

"sounds good to me"

"Okay, lets move out, on me."

Without another word, they set off across the street towards the enemies location.

The road was very wide, about 150 feet with three lanes on each side with a large sidewalk in the center with grass, trees, and plants. As they crossed the first half of the street, a loud crash echoed throughout the empty, lifeless street.

Looking towards where the crash came from, Chase saw that the SWAT van had a very rough date with a telephone pole. The van had hit the pole head on and the front bumper, grille, hood were destroyed with pieces of metal all over the ground

Protective instinct kicked in and Chase, everyone else following close behind, made a break for the van hoping to find any survivors. As he got closer to the truck, he could truly see the carnage of what had happened to the van.

The departments going to have to get a new SWAT van, thought Chase turning to his men with a worried look on his face.

"Two of you get to the back and see how everyone is from the inside," he said pointing to two guys. "The rest of us will cover the truck and proceed on mission. Call HQ and tell them to send more officers and ambulances, Lets G…."

Gun fire peppered the truck and everyone took cover. The two nominated men got inside the truck and Chase could hear them calling for assistance on the radio.

"Open fire on all hostiles and move towards the target in that building," directing everyone's attention towards a white three story apartment building. "once we get inside, go room to room and take down any hostile that is in your way."

Turning back towards the enemies activated the hostile recognition system and his gun began firing at the enemies, his weapon getting kills left and right. As the enemy was taken down, he looked over to his left and saw that one of his guys was on the ground bleeding. He rushed over to the man and checked his wounds. He saw that he had been hit in the neck and blood was gushing out. He applied pressure to the wound and tried to stop the bleeding.

"MAN DOWN," he screamed to his guys.

He looked back down at the man and saw that he was motionless. Chase moved his paw towards his wrist to try and find a pulse. Chase didn't feel any heart beat. He looked back at the mans face and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I could not save you," breaking down to tears.

"Chase, we got them on the run, what do you want us to do," asked one of the guys.

Before he gave an answer, he saw a Mercedes Benz SUV speed off, away from the fighting. Finally Chase spoke, "radio in HQ and tell them that the target got away."

"Yes sir," said the man, looking down at the dead teammate on the ground.

Later that day…..

The review board always gave a report to the field commander at the time of an incident that affects and operation. "Captain Chase, after review of the incident that occurred earlier this morning, we were given no choice but to take you off the force temporarily."

Chase looked at the board with a shock. Off the force temporarily.

"Sir, I completely understand the reason for this but…..," he stopped mid sentence thinking about what to say next.

"But what, Captain?" asked one of the board members in a serious tone

"What of the deceased officers family, have they been contacted?" Chase knew that, that was not what he wanted to ask.

"They have been contacted, you do not need to worry." The board stood up as well as Chase. Chase saluted the men and walked out the door.

As Chase left, he felt a paw on his shoulder. Turning to see Atlas, he said, "what's up?"

"How did the review go."

"They temporarily suspended me from the force."

"Well," he said sighing. "That sucks. What are you going to do now?"

"Well, I am going to go home and pack a bag, I got a reunion with the pups in Adventure Bay and I was wondering…."

"Wondering what?"

"Would you like to go with me to the reunion?"

"It would be an honor."

"Great, I was hoping you would say yes. I already bought the plane tickets."

"Well I guess I really cant turn back now," he laughed!

"Great, I will pick you up at 4 this evening."

"Sounds good, see you then," he said turning away from Chase.

Feeling his phone vibrate, Chase pulled it out of his pocket and saw that Ryder had texted him.

It asked if he was still coming to the reunion.

Chase replied: Yes, I am. Sorry for not getting back to you earlier. I will be there late tonight. Don't wait up for me.

Before he got a response, Chase shut his phone off and headed home.

3 hours later on the plane…..

Atlas had taken a while to get his bag packed that Chase had to practically drag him by his tail so they were on schedule.

"Why didn't you pack when you got home?" Chase asked curiously

"Me being me, I thought I could get the bag packed last minute."

"You thought wrong."

"My tail hurts from you literally dragging me out of my house," he said grabbing his tail.

In his best baby voice, "Aww, I'm sorry, do you need a hug, ya big baby." Chase broke out laughing at that.

Atlas's face turned bright red in embarrassment.

"I just messing with you. Lets just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride."

After Atlas relaxed, Chase began to think about Everest. Her personality, her spirit, her love, kindness and the love she shared with Chase. He missed her beautiful fur and stunning eyes.

Everest, where did you go and why did you leave me?


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Guys, Raptor here. I am super excited to announce that Everest had joined a pack of wolves. In this chapter, this focus on the pups reuniting in Adventure Bay and near the end, I will write a POV flashback of Everest the day she joined the pack/went missing. Actually, I lied that will be another time.**

 **Again, thank you for all the support with this story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Paw Patrol**

It felt like years and no pups had arrived at the lookout tower yet. Ryder was standing on the balcony of the lookout staring towards the sea. The waves crashing the and the sun shining as beautiful as ever. Ryder did not notice Katie behind him as he continued to let his mind drift.

Katie walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him in tightly and let out a sigh.

Ryder noticed and embraced her hug and grabbed her hand. "Why did Everest have to up and disappear?" he asked keeping his eyes on the water.

Katie let go of him and stood next to him and looked at his face. His face and eyes were red, telling Katie that Ryder had been crying. Most likely of Everest, she thought

"I do think I have the answer to that Ryder," she said tearing up. "Maybe one day we will figure that out, but right now we need to focus on the others."

Ryder looked at Katie with a glare, "You want me to forget about Everest?"

"I did not say that, but what I am telling you is that you…..need to let her go." She touched her hand to his cheek and looked into his eyes. He returned the look and he pulled her in closer and kissed her. She felt better knowing that Ryder understood what she said and made the kiss last.

After finishing their make out session, they heard a voice from down near the ground. They both looked towards the direction of the sound and saw a very beautiful mix breed looking around; searching for someone.

"Hello" said the dog, hoping someone was home

"Rocky, is that you?"

The dog looked up towards the lookout balcony and smiled, "The one and only Ryder. Good to see you Katie," he said pointing his nose to Katie.

"Hang on a moment, I'll be right down." He rushed to the elevator and pushed the button. In his excitement he almost forgot Katie and held the elevator door until she got in.

At the bottom, Rocky was waiting for them inside. He jumped with joy and charged Ryder, knocking him to the ground. Rocky lathered Ryders face in dog slobber and Ryder laughed.

"Rocky, stop that," laughed Ryder

Rocky stopped licking Ryder and got off of him.

"Now that we got that out of the way," said Katie as she pat Rocky's head. "How have you been rocky?"

"Good, everything has been well and I hope to come home in the next couple of months."

Before he got a response, they heard a vehicle pull up and a plane fly over the lookout.

"I wonder who that might be," said Ryder curiously

As they made their way outside, Ryder saw the truck that had arrived contained to pups, a bulldog and a chocolate lab: Rubble and Zuma. They also saw the plane land and saw a Cockapoo hop out, her pink eyes shining in the sunlight with a twinkle.

"Hey Ryder, what's up dude," said Zuma

"Yeah, how you been Ryder and Katie," asked Rubble

"Staying out of trouble, I hope," joked Skye as she joined the group.

They all hugged and Ryder spoke. "Zuma, I noticed you said my name correctly, without your speech impairment." Everyone looked at Zuma who smiled

"Yeah, I took some speech classes in college and I broke free from it, although I kind of liked my speech impairment."

"Wow!" said an excited Rocky. "That is cool, I'm happy for you," as he hugged Zuma

Rocky moved to Rubble and said, "Still have your digger, Rubble?"

Rubble whimpered, "sadly, my digger broke down one day and so I just stopped using it."

Changing the subject, Skye said," Anyone hear from Chase or Marshall?"

Ryder answered," I have not heard from Marshall but Chase said he was going to be here later tonight."

As Ryder continued to speak, he saw a red car come up the driveway. He observed the vehicle and saw a it park behind Rubble and Zuma's truck. The new character got out of the car and removed the sun glasses on their face revealing the fun-loving pup, Marshall.

"Hey, pups! Who missed me?" he spoke in the same voice he left with, young and full of life.

Everyone was surprised at how surprisingly young Marshall still looked even though he was the oldest, second to Chase. He still had his pup tag and his yellow collar. He had some new features though. His face was darker mostly around the eyes and mouth, due to fighting fires. He had some scars from burns on his legs. It still did not cover up how handsome he was.

"Wow, Marshall," said Katie, "You look great."

"You really do Marshall," they all said in sync.

"Have you guys seen Chase yet," said Marshall in a worried voice

"No, dude," said Zuma, "He said he would not be here until later this evening."

Marshalls mouth literally dropped to the floor because of Zuma's voice. "Hey, you don't have you speech impairment, you sound great," suddenly realizing what he said he added, "Not that you didn't sound great before."

"Nah, don't sweat it, I get it a lot," turning to Ryder. "So Ryder, are our rooms the way you left them?"

Ryder looked at Zumas interrogating eyes and said, "Yep, just the way you left them, make yourselves at home." He motioned everyone to take their bags into their respected rooms in the lookout.

Ryder had moved the pups inside when Zuma had been nearly beaten to death . Zuma never forgot the day he nearly died and really had a trust issue with people. What had happened was the pups had saved a little when she fell off her family's boat and nearly drowned. Zuma had been patrolling nearby and saved her but she would not be the same kid again. The Paw Patrol sent their condolences and were sorry for their daughter. The father didn't want their condolences, he waned his daughter back the way she was. She began to struggle in school, she would get major infections in her ears and she had trouble speaking. Her dad did not like how his daughter was not like her old self.

One day he got a baseball and came to the lookout in the dead of night. When he found Zuma's pup house, he knocked on his door and grabbed Zuma by the throat. He then proceeded to beat Zuma causing him to scream. Chase luckily, was a light sleeper and heard the first yelp. He looked around and saw Zuma being pummeled by the man. Chase grabbed his Taser and tazed the man forcing him to stop hurting the man.

The man was arrested but Zuma had been beaten to the brink of death. He had a broken leg, three fractured ribs, collapsed lung and multiple lacerations. The doctors said he would fully recover physically but mentally was a different story. He frequently would wake up screaming because of a nightmare and he did not let any male doctors near him; out of fear he was going to be badly hurt again.

To make everyone feel safer, Ryder had the lookout renovated to hold eight bedrooms, one for each pup and two for guests. Since then nobody had tried to hurt them.

 **Back to the Present…..**

It was nearly dinner time and there was still no word from Chase. Ryder became worried and pulled out his phone and texted Chase.

He waited and finally got response: and it said:

Plane landed. Sorry, had a two hour layover in Detroit. Be there in about an hour.

Ryder replied the text and put his phone in his pocket. He went into the living room in the lookout and saw the pups playing on the old Pup Pup Boogie. Wow, they are still like children. He watched Zuma and Skye rocking out and both pups still had their moves. When it finally came down to the final stretch, Zuma could not go on any longer and collapsed in exhaustion.

He formed a T with his front paws and called, "Timeout."

The pups laughed at Zuma and helped the exhausted pup up off the floor. He looked towards Skye and said, "It seems my energy is not what is used to be, you are still quite a challenge to beat."

Skye blushed at Zumas comment and everyone noticed. This caused her to blush even more. Everyone was silent making the atmosphere in the room very awkward. She turned around and went back to her room with another word and everyone looked around at what just happened and smiled and remained quiet

Rubble broke the silence, "Well, I am going to go get a snack, you guys are more than welcome to join me."

Everyone said no, mainly along the lines of, they don't want to eat or drink until Chase arrives.

Rubble understood and chose to stay and wait until Chase arrived but his stomach still growled.

 **With Chase at the airport…..**

Chase got off the plane at Adventure Bay International. Atlas had slept through the last half of the flight and Chase yet again had to drag his sorry butt off the plane. When Chase finally dropped Atlas on the ground, the Shepherd woke and was on his feet in a second.

Observing his surroundings he saw that he was no longer on the plane and he looked at Chase with a bit of hatred in his eyes. "You could have just woken me up on the plane," growled Atlas.

"Yeah, I know," said Chase with a laugh. "But It would not have made for a good story."

"Uhh, sometimes I just want to hurt you so bad," said with a sour tone

"Hah, I'd like to see you try," Chase challenged

"Okay, fine you win," said Atlas, submitting. "Lets just go get our bags and get to Adventure Bay."

"Sounds good, on me," ordered Chase as he started towards the baggage claim

"You do know that we are off duty cops right," said Atlas, slightly annoyed

"Your right, I should take my mind away from the force, while I'm on vacation," he said as he followed the glowing sign that lead to baggage claim.

As they got to the claim, Atlas said, "You mind grabbing my bag, I'll go get us a car."

"Sure thing, wait. What does your bag look like?" asked a confused Chase.

"Standard issue LAPD duffel bag just like yours, come on Chase don't make me bottle feed it to you."

"Got it, see you soon and for gods sake do not get a Prius," implored Chase

"Got you, be back soon," he said as he walked off to the car rental desks

After Chase had found his bag, he saw Atlas pull up in a Dodge challenger. "Now that is more like it."

Atlas rolled down the window and sarcastically yelled, "Hurry up, babe, I don't have all day." He yelled it loud enough for a few people to turn their heads.

Chase quickly through the bags in the trunk and got in the passenger seat, glaring at Atlas who had a huge smile on his face.

"If you weren't my friend, I would totally commit a crime against you. How does assault, battery and maybe a little murder sound."

"Okay, you got me," he said with a guilty look. "Now will you put in the directions in the GPS, please."

After contemplating whether or not he should put in the directions, he caved in and inputted the directions towards Adventure Bay.

"Please proceed to Highway 16 and turn right in exactly 1.6 miles."

Atlas put the car in drive and set off toward the highway. Once he got on the highway the GPS lady spoke again, giving them their next direction.

"Please continue for 53.2 miles and then take exit 37 on right."

"Chase, I have been meaning to ask you something and I thought that since we had a long drive ahead of us that."

"Yes"

"You don't talk about Everest that much and I just wanted to know about the events that lead up to her disappearing."

Chase did not know what to say. The only other people that he told were his mom and siblings but never really much to Atlas. "Well, since you are my friend and It trust you so I see no harm in telling you."

"I am all ears, Chase," said Atlas, giving his full attention

"Well, it all happened three years ago"

 **HA I left you on a cliffhanger, just like I wanted to (insert evil diabolic laugh). Anyway you can probably guess what the next chapter will be about. I also wanted to thank RJW82835 for creating his story, Wanted Justice. Without that story, then you would not be reading this right now. I also wanted to let you guys know that I am taking a fanfiction load off until Monday due to the fact that I have things to do on Saturday like practice ACT's, airsoft and work. Well that is all I have left to say to you guys. Thanks for the support, RaptorxActual out**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey Guys, I'm back with another chapter in this story. I am sorry for not getting one to you guys even though I specifically stated I was not going to post one over the weekend. It was mainly due to the fact that I worked and had practice ACT's. Well, I am going to end my apology there and get on with the chapter. FYI: Zuma will have his speech impairment in all chapters that talk about the past. Thanks again you guys for all the support.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE PAW PATROL, ONLY THE STORY AND OC'S**

 **Three Years Ago…..**

Everest had now been apart of the Paw Patrol for about 3 months now. She had become the teams snow pup and lived with Jake on Jakes Mountain. She rarely ever left the mountain and often felt kind of lonely. Today she took a break from the mountain and decided to go play with the other pups down at the lookout.

"I will see you later Jake." Said Everest as she loaded up her snowmobile and got in.

"Later, Everest. Say hi to the others for me." Said Jake, waving his hand in goodbye.

She started her snowmobile and looked back at Jake, who smiled. Putting it in gear she raced off the mountain towards the lookout.

As she made her way through a forested area of Jakes mountain she got a feeling she was being watched. Pulling over her snowmobile she looked around in worry. She heard all sorts of sounds around her.

CRACK!

The sound came from behind her and she turned to see wolves, teeth showing and eyes full of hatred. Before they got to her, she sped off towards the lookout and did not turn back.

Why did they look very angry, she thought

When she finally got to the lookout, she was greeted by the love her life, Chase. He sat at the entrance of the lookout, eyes filled with joy. When she disembarked her snowmobile, she slipped and fell towards the ground. Before she hit the ground, she felt something stop her. She looked up to see that Chase had cradled her in his paws and stopped her fall.

"Are you okay, my love?" asked Chase, with a little worry

"Never better, babe." As she put her paw on his cheek and pulled him in for a kiss. She always loved Chase when he was romantic and caring. She explored his mouth with her tongue and his with hers. When they pulled apart, they both sucked in a lot of air.

Chase was a little dizzy from the lack of oxygen and fell over, Everest still in his arms.

"Oomph," said Chase as he hit the ground. He was on his back and Everest on his chest looking him in the eyes. Chase was blushing as red as Marshall's firetruck.

Everest noticed Chase turning into a red shepherd and licked him on the cheek. "What are you embarrassed by?" she asked, with a giggle

"Nothing, its just that," he paused. "I can't believe that I am dating the most beautiful dog in the world."

This made Everest blush even more. "Aww, Chase you are so sweet." She had always admired how sweet Chase was. Even though he was the most serious of all the other pups, but Everest seemed to thaw the very chill pup and bring out his love and caring side.

"And she is also straddling my body if you know what I mean," said Chase, with a wink and a few raises of the eyebrow

"You are just a pervert, sometimes," giggled Everest. "And I like it"

"AHEM," said a mysterious voice

Everest looked up to see Zuma standing there, however, Chase was still looking at Everest. He was completely oblivious to the other voice. She tried to get his attention but he was in a deep trance, staring at his girl. He tried reaching up for a kiss but Everest put her paw on his mouth and pointed hi head towards Zuma.

"Oh….hey Zuma," said Chase , nervously. "How long have you been standing there."

"Long enough to know that you and Evewest are boyfwiend and girlfwiend." He sounded very serious even for Zuma.

"Why is there a problem with it," Everest challenged with a growl. She was now in Zumas face.

"None at all," retorted Zuma with a laugh. "Chill out Evewest, I was just messing with you," he said bursting into laughter.

"Okay good," she said, helping Chase onto his feet. "For a second, I thought I was going to have to turn you into liver treats."

"Well, I am glad you didn't," said Zuma, with a nervous chuckle.

"Dude, you can't do that," said Chase calming down. "I almost thought you two were going to get into a brawl."

"Hey you guys," came a voice

They all looked up at the Lookout balcony and saw Ryder and Rocky looking down at them.

"What's up Ryder?" asked Chase, giving a friendly shove to Zuma, who growled at him

"Do you guys want to watch a movie and order Pizza tonight?"

"Yes!" they all said in unison

Ryder left the balcony and headed down stairs to his ATV. He pulled around to the pups. The others came out once they heard Ryders ATV.

"Okay, I am gonna head into town and get everything. Chase," he said pointing to the Shepherd

"Yes, Ryder, Sir?" said Chase, giving his full attention

He is so cute when he is serious, thought Everest

"You are in charge while I am gone."

"Yes sir, Ryder Sir," said Chase, taking Ryder's order extremely serious.

"Good to know, I can count on you, Chase." Looking towards the other pups, "Be good, you guys. I will try to be back in two hours."

"You got it Ryder," said all the pups, minus Chase who already had his orders.

"No offense Ryder but can you hurry up already with the pizza," said Marshall, looking towards his friends, who glared at him. "What, I'm hungry!" which made everyone laugh.

Ryder laughed, "I will get the pizzas as fast as I can Marshall."

"Sounds good to me," said Rocky and Rubble in sync

Waving goodbye, Ryder drove off towards town.

When he knew Ryder was gone, Zuma tackled Chase without warning.

"Hey what gives Zuma?"

Everyone gasped at the two, not knowing what it was about besides Everest

"Yeah, Zuma, what are you doing." Asked Skye, who had a scared and confused look on her face

"Ask Chase and Evewest, they know what this is about." He said looking at Skye. Turning his gaze back to Chase. "Don't you, Chase?"

Shoving Zuma off him and pinning him on the ground, Chase said, "Why are you doing this Zuma?" interrogated Chase. "What is with you, today?" Chase let Zuma up and pushed him away.

Zuma turned and sighed

"I just want to know more about this welationship you and Evewest."

The other pups gasped. Marshall put his paws on his mouth, Rubble's mouth dropped down to the floor, Rocky froze in shock and Skye about passed out.

"That's what this is about," said Chase. "Why didn't you say anything? I was going to eventually tell everyone."

"I'm sowwy, I guess I just got caught in the moment you guys had eawlier and I wasn't thinking.

Before Chase responded, Everest said, "Well, thanks for telling everyone, Zuma.

Know what he said was wrong, Zuma began to tear up. "I'm sowwy Chase and Evewest." He was now full on crying, "I...I di-didn't mean to e-expose you two. It was ne-nevew my intention."

Before Chase or anyone at that matter could respond, Zuma turned and ran towards the lookout and disappeared inside.

"Zuma, wait," called Everest, running after Zuma only to be stopped by Rubble and Rocky. She knew she did wrong by getting mad at him.

"Let him be," said Rocky.

"He does not understand what he just did, he will come out when he is ready," explained Rubble

Nodding, Everest turned back towards Chase and sat by him. Chase nuzzled her and she began to cry. Chase looked at the others, who now had their fullest attention on Chase

When he looked at the others, he breathed in and said, "well now you guys know." He was doing his best not to cry. For all I know, my buddy hates me now, Chase thought. "what do you guys want to know?"

Marshall spoke first, "how long have you been dating?"

"About 6 months now," answered Chase, still thinking about Zuma. "Next Question."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" asked Rocky

"We didn't think you guys would like the fact that we were dating," said Everest, who wiped away a tear.

"We would have supported you, we are family. That's what we are supposed to do. We're supposed to help one another." Said Skye

"Chase, not to be rude or anything, but why not date Skye?" Once he realized that he may have taken it too far he took a few steps back in embarrassment.

Skye blushed and answered his question, "Chase did ask me before all this if I wanted to go on a date and I told him no."

Chase spoke next, "The reason why she said no is because she thought of me too much as a brother." He looked at Skye, and nodded. "But that did not stop us from being best of friends." He looked at his friends once more and looked at Everest, "we should go talk to Zuma."

Everest only nodded in response and set off for the lookout.

When the couple approached Zuma's room, they heard crying in the room and then

CRASH!

They quickly opened the door and saw that Zuma was tearing his room apart in anger and sadness.

"ZUMA, STOP," yelled Everest.

No response

Chase didn't say anything and tackled Zuma and held him down. Zuma squirmed and wiggled trying to get Chase off of him. Chase quickly held Zuma in his arms and hugged him, calming him down.

"Chase what awe you doing?" asked Zuma, in a distraught voice. "I'm a bad pup, you shouldn't be talking to me wight now."

"What are you talking about?"

"I exposed your welationship with Evewest to evewyone."

"Zuma, that doesn't mean you and I aren't friends still."

"Weally, you mean that," said Zuma, getting excited

"Of course," said Chase, bringing in Zuma for hug.

Everest joined in too and said, "Zuma, I never meant to hurt your feelings."

"I fowgive you Evewest,"

"Now what do you say we go play with everyone else, eh,"

"Lets do it," said Everest, leading the charge to the others

 **Four Hours Later…..**

"That movie was hilarious," laughed Rubble

"Yeah, I almost wet myself three times," giggled Marshall.

"I am so glad you didn't." said Rocky, laughing and disgusted at the same time

Ryder looked at his watch, "It's getting late pups, what do you say we hit the hay."

"Awwww," exclaimed all the pups

"But Ryder," begged Skye

"No buts, now off to bed."

The pups left leaving only Chase and Everest

"Ryder, Sir?" asked Chase

"Yes, Chase."

"I know it's probably to late to ask, but can Everest stay the night?"

"Of course, she can," said Ryder. Turning to Everest, he asked, "Is it alright with Jake?"

"Yes, I called him earlier and told him that I was gonna stay the night, he was cool with it."

"Alright then, I will see you guys in the morning, I am going to stay at Katie's tonight."

"OK, Ryder," said Chase with a wink.

Shaking his head at Chase, he said, "Okay, again, you are in charge Chase."

"Yes Sir, Ryder Sir."

He waved goodbye and left for Katie's

Chase usually made his rounds to make sure everyone was okay. He checked the perimeter and made sure everyone was in their respected rooms. Chase decided he was going o bend the rules tonight. Chase for the first time ever was gonna be a bad boy and break his precious rules.

He went outside to Everest's pup house and knocked on her door.

No Answer

He knocked once more and whispered, "Everest, you there?"

No answer

He quickly bean to panic as he did not know what to do. He never had this happen before and now one of his teammates was missing, who also happened to be the love of his life. He noticed footprints on the ground. Multiple sets of footprints. He saw that they led from Everest's pup house to the forest. He set out to find his girlfriend and bring her home.

 **Everest's POV…..**

Everest awoke hanging by her scruff dangling from side to side. She noticed that she was also moving. She looked towards her scruff and noticed a wolf gripping her scruff in its jaws.

"Are you going to hurt me?" she asked scared out of her wits

No answer

"Please tell me why you took me?" she implored and the wolf stopped.

POW!

She clutched her chest from the wind being knocked out of her and saw a wolf standing in front of her. Regaining her breath she said, "Why di….did you *cough* do that to me?" She coughed and watched the wolf.

"SHUT UP," yelled the wolf

 _That's female voice if I have ever heard one_

The wolf carrying her dropped her and placed a paw on her back pushing her into the ground and keeping her there.

"Enough of this, Nova," growled the carrier. He was male. "You know that Echo wants her alive."

What could they want me for? Thought Everest

"He never said how alive she had to be," she said barring her fangs in Everest face.

Everest couldn't move with the paw keeping her on the ground. She whimpered and whined in fear.

Nova turned her attention towards the male, "You know I am right, Edge." She growled in his face

Edge was now growling back and reached down to pick up Everest again.

As soon as she could, she flipped over an clawed Edges face and ran, but not very far.

Nova was on top of her and sank her fangs into Everest's neck

Everest screamed in pain and was silenced when Nova put her muzzle in the ground.

"That's enough," came a new voice

"She tried to escape, Edge, " protested Nova, letting Everest up. " I did what I had to do."

"She didn't for very long," came, yet, another voice

"You shut up, Oracle," she growled at the female

"Enough both of you," shouted Echo. "Get her back to camp," he ordered. "But first." He leaned down and looked Everest in the eyes, "Welcome to the pack, young one."

Everest closed her eyes and passed out

 **Longest chapter yet everyone. This one had me on the "edge" of my seat. The ideas in my head went super"nova" and "echo"ed throughout the room. I had to "Chase" it down from the "Skye" to the "Rocky" "Rubble" at "Zuma" speeds.**

 **That was some pretty interesting word play there. Any way, thanks guys for tuning/reading my latest chapter. Next one should be out sometime this week. I plan to try and push out at least two this week and probably two per week until the end of the story. Thanks guys and I'll get back to you all shortly**

 **Raptor out**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, what's up yall. I'm back with a new chapter. I noticed, finally, that I may or may not have been kind of spoiling my stories. I have decided to stop spoiling my stories in these intro paragraphs. Any who, thanks for tuning in and I hope you guys and gals enjoy. Thank you**

Chase and Atlas were twenty minutes out from Adventure Bay.

"So what happened next?" asked Atlas, in a curious and concerning voice

Chase had trouble responding to the question. While telling the old memory, Chase couldn't help but cry the whole time telling him. He sniffed and wiped his tears. "Well, after I started following the tracks."

 **Flashback…..**

"EVEREST, WHERE ARE YOU?" screamed Chase.

The wind started to pick up, but that didn't stop from giving up hope. Everest was everything to Chase. He hoped to start a family with her, once the team eventually got too old and were forced to disband. But that would be for nothing if he couldn't find her.

Before he left, Chase had put on his super spy gear and already sent his drone up into the sky. Whenever the drone found something, he would make his way to the location his drone found. It found a nest where a animal had laid down to rest. It was still warm. Chase sniffed the air and picked up the smell of a deer. He grew very angry and looked at the drone.

"For the last time, find something that will help me find Everest," said Chase, growing ever so impatient.

The drone soared off with a whir and disappeared into the night.

Chase backtracked his steps, back to the steps he was originally tracking before he was unnecessarily sidetracked by his drone. I swear if that drone communicates with me one more time and brings me to a misleading clue. I will bury it in the ground. Chase heard his pup tag beep. He pushed it and heard Ryder speak.

"Chase, where are you? I came back to the lookout to grab something and your pup house was empty." Ryder was concerned and had an edge to his voice; he wanted answers immediately. He never had a pup leave without notifying him first.

"Ryder, sir. I can explain," said Chase, kind of freaked out. He never heard Ryder with such an edgy voice before.

"Chase, tell me. What I going on?" Ryder's voice was very concerned, especially for his pups.

"Ryder, it," Chase paused. "Its Everest, sir."

"What about her, isn't she in her pup house. It was closed when I got here."

"She's gone, sir. Everest is gone." He cut the communication with Ryder and continued into the forest.

 **Flashback Ends…..**

"What happened after that," pushed Atlas. He was concerned for his best friend. He has never seen him this upset before.

"We searched. And we searched. And we searched," repeated Chase. "I searched for the rest of that night and never found a single thing." He started to cry and started to get extremely emotional. He put his head on the dash and started to cry even more. "And one by one, the team left. I was the one who held on and hoped she would return. But she didn't."

Atlas pulled a paw off the steering wheel and rubbed Chase on the back, trying to calm him down. "Chase, I'm sorry," he said, trying to reassure him. "I wish, I knew how to help you, but I'm afraid that is beyond me."

Chase felt his friends paw on his back and began to slowly relax and calm down. He looked over at Atlas, and saw him looking him in the eye. He let out a sigh and tried to give Atlas a smile. He couldn't even make a sad smile. "Thanks Atlas, I'm glad you came."

"Your welcome, buddy," he said with a final pat on the back. His eyes returned to the road.

"Because if you had not of come, I probably wouldn't have come at all." He sniffed and sat back in his seat and wiped away the tears. His body was finally calmed down enough to look out at the road. The pretty green trees and freshly paved roads, reminding him of his days back with the team.

"Hey," Atlas said, giving him a friendly shove getting Chase's attention. "We're here." Pointing his nose towards the woods.

Chase turned his head and saw his old home appear out if the trees. He saw the town, where he had saved countless lives. He could see City Hall, where he hoped Mayor Goodway still worked. He saw Mr. Porters shop, where he made his cakes, pastas and just about everything he could think him. He saw Katie's store, where the pups got their baths, and where they were taken if they had been injured during a mission. Chase remembered a scar on the back of his neck when he rescued two kids from the sea caves. And in the distance was the place where he practically grew up, where he laughed and cried. The place he was looking at, way out in the distance was the Lookout Tower.

As the car made its way through town, Chase admired how much the town had changed. Everything was different, the roads were freshly paved, sidewalks replaced, lights were brighter but the lookout had not changed. It was still painted the same colors and had been painted recently. Even the slide was still there.

Chase was overwhelmed with joy to see his old home and how taken care of it was. He looked over at Atlas, who was just as excited as he was.

"Welcome home, Officer Chase," said Atlas, in a very welcoming voice.

"Glad to be home, Officer Atlas," he said, in a thankful voice. Chase was glad Atlas was there with him. He thought of Atlas as a therapist, always helping accomplish goals in the worst of time.

"Well, then lets get up to that Lookout and get you home." Atlas floored on the gas and sped across the bridge.

"I'd like to get there in one piece please," asked Chase, hoping he doesn't die before he got there

"Sorry, got a little excited myself," said Atlas, apologizing with a giggle

As they pulled into the lookout driveway, they noticed a plane and two other cars parked outside. "I guess we are the last ones to show up," said Chase, as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out.

HONK! HONK! HONK!

Chase turned and saw Atlas looking at him with a guilty look. "Really, did you have to do that?" Chase threw his paws in the air in confusion. "Did you not think, I wanted to surprise everyone on my arrival," hitting his head, telling Atlas to think next time.

"Sorry, wish I had of known before we got here, you idiot." Atlas actually seemed very angry and actually showed some teeth.

Chase saw this and quickly apologized, "Sorry, bro. I'll make sure your in on it next time." Chase had never seen Atlas angry before.

"HA!" shouted Atlas. "Gotcha, I was messing with you, lets go see your friends," he said looking beyond Chase. "Speaking of which, Chase," he said pointing behind Chase.

Chase turned to see all his friends standing side by side, staring at him in frozen happiness. He stared back at his friends and looked back at Atlas. "Atlas, stop standing there and introduce yourself." He turned back towards his friends and Ryder was in front of him. Chase said nothing as Ryder kneeled down and embraced him in a hug.

Ryder held his pal for moment, comforting him. He finally let go, "Still barking orders like the good old days, Chase?" Ryder smiled at Chase and wiped a happy tear away and stepped away so his friends could also welcome home their friend and former colleague.

"Welcome home, brother," said Marshall, who gave his friend a hug and stepped away. "Good to see you."

"And you as well Marshall," said Chase giving his friend a pat on the shoulder

Next was, Rocky. Chase looked at his friend and looked at how beautiful and handsome his friend got. Chase grabbed his friend and pulled him closer. "Rocky, if weren't any more handsome, you would think I am gay."

Rocky smiled awkwardly and laughed. "Thanks Chase, I guess." Rocky stepped back before he gave a friendly push to Chase who responded, "Hey" before he could retaliate.

Next was Rubble. The muscular Bulldog, walked up to Chase and pulled HIM into a hug. The wind was completely knocked out of Chase's lungs and said, "Rubble, as much as I enjoy hugs. I'd prefer if you not kill me in the process."

Rubble tried talking but couldn't make words.

"Rubble, you okay," said Chase, letting the bulldog go

As soon as Rubble was released, he breathed in deeply. "Chase, I could say the same for you, but seeing as though I can barely breathe. I will save it for another time." He looked back at Chase and withdrew to the rest of the group.

Next was Skye. The beautiful Cockapoo walked up to Chase and kissed him in the cheek. Chase turned red in embarrassment and everyone chuckled at the sight. Chase pulled her in close and held her tightly. "It's so good to see you Skye," said Chase, shedding a tear.

Skye noticed this and wiped it away. Skye had always been the motherly figure of the group. She even gave timeouts to the bad pups. When she saw a sad pup, she helped them get back on their feet again. "It's good to see you to, Chase." Her voice was that of a singer: beautiful, smooth, elegant and very sweet. She gave Chase one last kiss on the cheek and let the final pup come up to Chase, Zuma.

Zuma, the surf-loving pup, walked up to Chase with a little caution. When Everest disappeared, Chase blamed Zuma for exposing the love he shared with Everest. But when Chase realized that, Zuma was not to blame, it was too late. Zuma had already left the team and was living his own life. As much as Chase tried to communicate with, Zuma ignored his calls and ripped his letters. Zuma continued to blame himself for that day, that he was to blame for her disappearance.

Chase walked up to Zuma with a little skepticism. When he was right in front of Zuma, his mind was either telling him to punch the pup or forgive him.

"Chase, I just wanted to let you know that I am sorry for everything." He started to tear up. "I haven't been the same since then. I gave up surfing, haven't dated anyone and I haven't returned any of your calls or letters." The small brown lab was now crying out loud. His fur turning a darker shade of brown.

Chase looked at the pup and had many things to say but instead pulled the lab towards him and hugged him ever so tightly. "Zuma," he said looking into the pups eyes. "It was never your fault, you were young, you didn't know any better nor did the rest of us." He was crying as well, for his stupidity and his hatred he had for Zuma all those years ago. With one more hug, Chase turned towards Atlas, who stared at Chase with a blank stare. Chase motioned for Atlas to come closer. "Everyone, this is Atlas. My police partner."

Everyone looked towards the other Shepherd and said, "hello, Atlas."

"Hi, everyone, it is great to finally meet you."

Ryder finally spoke, "Well, now we are all here. Chase and Atlas," motioning to the two shepherds. "you two can get yourselves settled. The rest of us are going out to dinner. You two are more than welcome to join us."

"That's much appreciated Ryder, but I think I just need some sleep," said Chase with a yawn

"Ditto, I agree," said Atlas with a yawn and a shake

"Okay, suit yourselves. Get a good nights rest and we will see you in the morning." Looking at the other pups. "Alright, load up."

The pups cheered and got into either Rubble's truck or Marshall's car. As they left, Chase and Atlas waved goodbye. When the cars disappeared out of sight, Chase and Atlas unpacked their bags and went into the lookout. Chase was stunned. The living room had couches and there were no more pup treat machines.

"Everything has changed since I was last here," said Chase

The rooms for the pups were on a lower level of the lookout. Chase's room was the first room on the left when he and Atlas left the elevator. The rooms opened with the owner of the rooms voice. Chase said, "Door open, arrf," he barked and the door opened.

"Impressive technology," said Atlas, who was all to impressed.

Chase walked into the room and said, "Yeah, very. Ryder made everything we have. He's a pretty smart kid."

"I never realized that he was that smart."

"Yeah, same here. When I first joined the team, he just seemed like a normal kid," said Chase throwing his bag on his bed. Pointing to the other bed, "You can have that one."

Atlas said nothing and threw his bag in the bed.

Once the two Shepherds had their bags unpacked, they both got comfortable in their beds. "Hey Chase."

"Yes Atlas," said Chase not moving.

"Thanks for letting me tag along."

"Your welcome buddy. Good night."

"Goodnight."

And soon both Shepherds were sleeping, waiting for the morning to come for both of them.

 **Yeah new chapter. One step closer to finishing this story. I'm trying to space the story, so you guys enjoy it. I'm not one to have all of my story explained in 5 chapters. I am going to try and push till about 15 chapters, I am not sure yet. Any who, thinks for reading Chapter 5 of Bring Her Home. Like/Fav**


	6. Chapter 6

**Back again with a new chapter. I am loving all the reviews that you guys are leaving. It is the one reason why I continue this story. Also these are the official and probably the only pairings:**

 **ChasexEverest**

 **RyderxKatie**

 **If you guys have any suggestions please tell me and I could possibly work with it. Any way, Welcome to the 6th Chapter in Bring Her Home**

It was the middle of the night and Chase was dreaming. But changed as the nightmare settled in.

Dreamscape…..

Chase was running through the forest, something spooked him making him run faster. He turned to see wolves chasing him, their mouths drooling and eyes full of hatred. Chase had previously been walking through the forest, enjoying the peace. Wishing that the nightmare would be over, Chase stopped. Due to him going really fast, stopping did not come easy. He had tripped over a root and hit the ground hard with a thud.

Chase sat up in pain, groaning as his muscles ached and head throbbed. He looked behind him and saw the wolves staring down on his injured, helpless body. They began to march towards him and stopped. He heard a low growl, coming from behind the wolves and they stepped aside to reveal the leader.

Chase looked at the leader and saw the last person he would have thought to lead wolves. The dog standing there was the love of his life, Everest.

"Everest," Chase said in shock, trying not to believe what he saw.

No answer from Everest as she advanced on Chase. The look in her eyes, they weren't caring or the loving eyes Chase knew. Everest's eyes were that of a murderer or a killer. Her eyes told the whole story.

"Everest, its me Chase," said Chase, backing up with his tail between his legs. "Don't you remember."

"I don't know any Chase," she said, as she lunged at Chase's neck.

Chase began to kick and scream, but was cut short when Everest pinned him to the ground. "Ever…est," he said as blood began to come out of his mouth.

Everest didn't let go until Chase's body stopped moving.

Dreamscape over…..

Chase awoke with a jolt, his heart pounding and his fur drenched in sweat. "It was just a dream," he said as he looked over at Atlas. The Shepherd as still sleeping and made little yips and noises. "At least his dream is pleasant," he said grabbing his neck. Why would she do that, he thought. Trying not to make a noise, Chase left the room and went to the elevator.

When he got to the top, he snuck out to the yard and walked towards the ocean. The moon was shimmering over the calm ocean water. Chase sat down on the edge of a cliff, giving himself and the cliff a few feet distance for safety. He just sat there and let his mind race. Would she do that? Why did she do it? Is that what happened to her? He let the thoughts continue to race.

SNAP!

Chase turned around teeth bared and was in a combat stance. When he saw where the sound came from he saw a broken stick on the ground and a scared chocolate lab standing over it. Chase relaxed when he saw Zuma. "Zuma, your lucky I didn't kill you."

"Sorry Chase, but I saw you leave and thought I would follow you."

"You were spying on me," said Chase, a growl growing in his throat.

"No, I would never…..," said Zuma, thinking of what to say next. "I was in the living room, sleeping on the couch."

"Why didn't you sleep in your room?" Chase questioned the lab as he would a suspect.

"Dude, my room and that whole floor is like freaking Antarctica," he said with a shiver.

"Hmmm," said Chase, tied between believing or not believing the lab.

"I also saw how distraught you looked and decided to keep you company."

Chase gestured for the lab to come sit with him. "Where do you think she went?" asked Chase, as Zuma was sitting down.

"I don't know, dude," responded Zuma, his voice telling Chase that he was certain.

"I just can't believe she is gone," said Chase, his legs losing the will to hold him up anymore. Chase collapsed onto the dew wet grass and began to cry out loud.

Zuma did not know what to say. He had always seen Chase as the tough, badass older sibling that he never had. Seeing him on the ground crying made him upset and he to fell to the ground and cried with his friend.

After a few minutes of crying, Chase reached over and pulled Zuma in and held him there. He nuzzled the smaller lab and said, "Thank you Zuma." He sniffed. "You are the younger sibling that I never had."

Zuma looked Chase in the eye. "your welcome Chase." The lab was still crying as Chase stood up and pulled the weeping dog up with him. AS mush as Zuma wanted to drop back down to the floor, Chase wouldn't let him.

"You should go back inside," Said Chase, with a sniff. He still felt like crying as much as Zuma did.

Without a word or a nod, Zuma turned and walked back towards the lookout. Before he went inside he gave Chase one last look and disappeared into the lookout.

Chase turned back towards the ocean and he laid on the ground, getting comfortable. Once Chase was comfortable he rest his head on his paws and slowly drifted to sleep.

A few hours later, Chase awoke to the sun shining in his face. "So much for sleeping," grumbled Chase as he stood up and yawned. His body ached and his legs and back were stiff. Nothing a good stretch would get rid of. He stretched his back and felt the joints and vertebra in his back unstiffen. He gave each of his legs a good stretching before heading into the lookout.

When he got inside, he saw that everyone was up, minus Zuma. Rocky was in the kitchen coking and was the first to notice Chase walk in and said, "Did you sleep outside last night?"

Chase gave Rocky a nod. "Yeah, I got really warm last night and went outside." He yawned once more. "Guess I got sleepy and fell asleep outside."

Marshall and Rubble laughed.

Skye silenced the two with her glare and the dally and the bulldog went back to their breakfast. "Don't mind these two. They had a little too much to drink last night, if you know what I mean," she said as she pulled up a chair for Chase.

"Oh yeah, I have definitely had a couple of those nights," he said, hopping into the chair. he saw his breakfast was waiting for him which consisted of: Eggs, bacon, Hash browns, Toast and, most importantly, coffee. "What, no donuts," chuckled Chase, as he dug in to his breakfast.

Everyone laughed at Chase even Atlas. Chase always liked that stereotype about cops and their coffee and donuts. He almost embraced it because it never really bothered him. He always laughed when someone mentioned it to him.

"Oh, Chase!" said Ryder as he walked in, with Katie close behind. "How did you all sleep last night."

"I slept amazing," singed Skye, doing a backflip.

"Best sleep, I've had in months," replied Rocky, as he dished himself some food.

The rest of the pups responses were either shrugs or nods.

"Hey where is Zuma?" asked Katie, noticing the missing pup

"He still asleep," said Chase, knowing why he was still asleep. "I will go check on him." He looked at the clock: 9:37 AM. "Oh yeah, it is time for him to get up anyway."

Chase ran to the elevator and went down. When he got to the lower floor, he ran over to the orange door with Zuma's pup tag on it. He knocked, "Zuma, are you in there." He heard a faint bark and not a second later, it opened.

Zuma was sitting up in his bed and looked at Chase invitingly. Chase stepped into the room and said, "How long have you been up?"

"Oh, about an hour now. I just couldn't believe in myself enough to actually get out of bed."

"Okay, you wanna come back upstairs with me?" asked Chase, encouraging the chocolate lab to get out of bed.

"I will be up in a minute."

Chase turned back towards the lab, "Zuma you have two choices: A you come willingly or B, I get up on that bed of yours and drag you out of here," Chase tried not to giggle over how serious he was being. "You have 5 seconds to decide." And he began counting. "5….4….,"

"Your serious aren't you?"

"….3…2," said Chase as he advanced to Zuma's bed and ripped off the blanket. "Don't make me say one," as Chase prepared himself to grab Zuma's tail. Just as Chase opened his mouth to say one, Zuma launched himself at Chase and the two rolled out of the room, playfully wrestling. Chase being the dominant of the two managed to get the lab pinned.

Zuma tapped the ground three times and Chase let go. The two dogs sat up, their fur ruffled and their eyes and overall body language were filled with joy. The dogs looked at each other and laughed. "Oh man, that was the most fun, I have had in years," said Zuma as he began to lick his fur.

"Agreed," said Chase who was already licking his fur.

Once the boys were done getting their fur to lay down they both headed to the elevator. When they got back upstairs everyone was in the living room. Zuma went to the kitchen for food and Chase went into the living room. Before he jumped into a vacant chair, he heard a knock at the front door. "I got it," said Chase, but nobody noticed. He went to the door and saw a man standing there. "Can I help you," said Chase with a greeting.

The man was tall, about 6'3, he had brown hair, cut back in a unique hairstyle, and had blue eyes. He spoke with a low deep voice. "No, but I can help you."

"What do you mean, by help me?" Chase was confused, as far as he knew he didn't need help.

"I can't tell you here, but if you come with me I'll tell you everything I know."

"About what?"

"You will just have to find out," holding out his hand for Chase to follow.

"I am sorry to disappoint but I am afraid I can not be of service to you."

The man nodded and turned, "Okay, suit yourself. But I can tell you where to find your girlfriend."

Chase's entire body froze. "What did you say?" he said with a growl.

"I said I know where you can find your girlfriend. What was her name , Everest?" The man seemed to taunt Chase.

Chase slowly advanced on the man, his mind poised to kill. "Everest is dead. She has been dead for three years." He stopped a few feet from the man. "How on earth would you know where she is? Have you seen her?"

"I have actually." The man was as cool as ice. He wasn't even threatened by Chase. "But I will only tell you where she is if you come with me."

Looking back at the Lookout, Chase thought long and hard. He finally said, "Okay, I'll come with you."

"Then lets go." The man turned and began to walk down the driveway

"But"

The man stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"If you try anything, I will kill you." Chase began to follow the man

"Fair enough."

When Chase and the man were a good long ways away from the Lookout, Chase stepped in front of the man. "Now tell me, where you saw her."

The man sat down on bench that was nearby and sighed. "About four weeks ago, I was hiking in the national park near here."

"Adventure Bay National Park," said Chase. He had been there many times.

The man nodded. "Any way, It was getting dark and I had not finished my hike, so I pulled out my flashlight and continued on my hike." He took a deep breath. "As I was finishing up the last mile back to my car, I began to get the feeling I was being watched."

"What was following you, or watching you at that?" Chase was now very intrigued with this story.

"I'll tell you," he said pointing at Chase. "I got to this bend in the trail, the Diamond Back Trail, and I began to hear growling."

"Growling?"

"Yes," the man was nervous about this story. "The growling got louder and louder, so I began to run. As I was running I dropped my flashlight and I couldn't see anything in front of me. I didn't see a sharp turn in the trail, and I fell into a ditch and I was knocked out."

"What happened next?" said Chase, feeling like he was in the story.

"I woke up in a cave and I could see the light shining outside."

"It was the morning."

"Yes but," he pulled up his sleeve revealing a scar. The scar was as long as his forearm and was the width of a pencil. "This was bleeding when I woke up and I quickly wrapped it. This was when the first wolf appeared."

"Wolves?"

"Yes, wolves and they spoke but I couldn't understand them."

"What does this have to do with Everest." Chase was uncertain that this story was connected to Everest but he continued to listen.

"There was one wolf with silver and white fur and it had blue eyes."

"That describes Everest almost perfectly, but she isn't a wolf, she is a husky."

"When they looked at me they growled and they looked like they were going to kill me."

"I can see that they didn't."

"In which I am totally grateful. I noticed something sitting on a rock next to me and I snatched it and shoved it into my pocket." He began to reach for his pocket. "I woke up in the hospital a few days later. The doctors told me I had been found in the parking lot with multiple wounds all over me." He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "This is what I found in that cave."

Chase saw what he was holding in his hand. It was Everest's pup tag. It was badly damaged but still noticeable. He jumped off the bench in shock. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes," he said handing it to Chase.

Chase took the object in his paws and started to cry. "All this time I thought she was dead and now I know that she is out there, alive." He looked over to the bench expecting to see the man but saw nothing. "Where did he go?" Not caring about him anymore Chase thought quickly. _I have to find her, but the park is nearly thirty miles away._ "And I no exactly how to get there," he said as he raced back to the lookout.

When he got back to the lookout, he saw the car he and Atlas used to get there. "The keys will be inside, in the bedroom." He went inside to be confronted by Ryder.

"Chase where have you been? We have been looking everywhere." Ryder really seemed pissed off. Chase could see the rage and imaginative steam coming out of his ears.

"Sorry Ryder, I went for a walk. Sorry to spook you all," said Chase, knowing what he said was a lie.

"it's ok, just don't let it happen again," ordered Ryder, walking to the elevator and headed up to the top. Chase chose to use the staircase to get down to the bedroom.

When he got to the room, he barked and was greeted by Atlas. "Oh hey, Chase. Where were you?"

"Went for a walk," he said ,lying to his partners face. "Have you seen the car keys?"

"Yeah," he said walking back into the room, grabbing the keys. "Here you go," he said, dropping the keys into Chase's paws.

"Thanks Atlas," said Chase, turning back to the elevator.

When Chase was outside, he got into the car. He still had the pup tag in his paws. "Don't worry, Everest. I'm coming to get you." He started the car, the engine coming alive with a roar, and drove off towards the National Park.

 **Holy Crap, I love writing fanfiction. Will Chase find Everest? What will happen if he finds her? Is Everest the same pup Chase remembers? Find out in the next Chapter of Bring Her Home.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello guys, I'm back with a new chapter. Sorry for not posting in a couple of days. So enjoy the story you guys.**

Chase had been thinking on how he was going to try and find Everest. He still didn't tell anyone what he was doing. The idea of everyone not believing him was at high chances in his mind. "They wouldn't believe me, even with the information that I have." Stepping on the gas, he raced to the park.

When he arrived at the park, Chase got out of the car and ran to the map in the parking lot. He went over the map and found where he was. It was marked with a red dot on the map labeled: You are here. It seemed like forever but Chase finally found the Diamondback Trail, located near him. He grabbed a map from the display and went back to the car and popped open the trunk.

Inside he had his personal pup pack. It was black with orange zippers. He put the map in a pocket and checked inside the main pouch to make sure he had everything. Inside the pack was everything any hiker or survival expert would pack. The pack had matches, fire starter, food, water, survival blanket and other assorted items. He didn't have his gun because he wasn't allowed to take it on the plane, so he was going to be going into the woods almost defenseless. He did have bear spray in that case but otherwise he was pretty much defenseless. He put the pack on, buckled it into place, and set off for the trailhead.

 **With Atlas…..**

"Hey Atlas," called Ryder.

"What's up, Ryder."

"Have you seen Chase?" His voice filled with concern

"He took the car and left, but he didn't say why or where he was going." Atlas was now getting concerned for his partner. "But I think I know how to find him."

Ryders face lit up, "How?"

Atlas said nothing as he turned his head a placed a claw behind his ear.

Ryder looked at Atlas's ear and said, "What am I supposed to be seeing Atlas?"

Atlas answered his question, "All K-9 officers are required to have a tracker chip embedded behind their ear."

"Do you know the signal to help locate him?" Ryder was happy to know that he could find his friend.

"Sadly, I don't know the frequency but as far as I know they are the same for each dog but different for each city."

"How do you know this? What if they are different?" Ryder was doubting Atlas!

"Its common sense," retorted Atlas.

"How is it common sense, Atlas?" Ryders face was beginning to turn red in anger.

"Because there are over a hundred police dogs in Los Angeles and the surrounding cities. Do you think they would have different frequencies for different dogs?" said Atlas, with a low growl.

"Seems logical, but how are you gonna know what the frequency is?"

That was something Atlas would have thought of. He knew that if he tried asking his boss, he wouldn't disclose what the frequency was. "I know my boss wouldn't disclose that kind of information. In the wrong hands, the bad guys can track where dogs are. And if they know where the dogs are then they know where the officers are."

Ryder slapped his head in frustration and sighed but didn't respond.

"But I bet I know who can find the signal," said Atlas, reassuring Ryder.

"Who?"

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" came a new voice

Atlas said nothing as he looked at the new character in the room.

Ryder saw him too and nodded, "Rocky, we need your help with something?"

 **Back with Chase…..**

Chase had been on the trail for a few hours. He had to get to the end of it to try and find where the man was followed and where he fell. He had already drank all his water and he was low on food. But he pushed on, hoping he would find something.

After about another hour of hiking, Chase noticed something on the side of the trail. He picked it up and recognized what it was.

It was a flashlight. It was covered in mud and was rusting all over.

Chase put two and two together. "This must be that guys flashlight that he dropped when he was being chased." He continued down the trail after dropping the flashlight back on the ground. After a few moments he came across a sharp bend in the trail and stopped.

"This must be where he fell off the trail," he said, as he looked down into the ditch. The ditch was about twenty feet deep and nearly thirty feet across. The other side of the ditch had a rocky hillside and had a few trees.

As he looked around he heard a sound behind him. He turned and saw nothing but trees, trail and bushes. He turned back towards the ditch.

SNAP!

He turned back and saw a wolf standing in front of him. Its yellow fangs and anger filled eyes seemed to stare straight into his soul. "What are you doing here?" growled the wolf.

Chase gulped in fear, "I was looking for a friend of mine. Her name is Everest? Have you seen her?"

"Don't know of any Everest, sorry," his voice obviously not sorry.

Chase perked his ears, he could hear a thumping on the ground. Something was running towards him. He looked to his left, expecting to see the trail but something crashed into him sending him into the ditch. He hit the ground hard and was knocked out.

 **Back at the Lookout…..**

Rocky was just finishing up with his drone. He had it connected to his laptop via USB and was inputting data. "okay nearly have it." He continued to type. "Atlas come here for a second."

Atlas bounded over from where he was sitting. "What do you need," he said as Rocky reached out and grabbed Atlas by the ear. "Oww, what the hell Rocky," he said as Rocky let go. "What was that for?" He was holding his ear.

Rocky said nothing as he inputted more data. When he finished typing he pulled the USB out of the drone and looked at Ryder and Atlas. "Stop whining ya big baby. I just needed your ear to be close so I could latch on to the frequency." He swiped up on his computer and a map of adventure bay popped up. "Now we can have the drone search for Chase while we stay here. It will go only to this specific frequency."

Ryder nodded his head, "Good work Rocky, how fast can you get the drone in the air."

As he spoke, the drone wisped into the air and took off out of the lookout, heading towards Chase's signal. When the drone was out of sight, Rocky looked at the map and saw a motionless dot in Adventure Bay National Park. "That's Chase's signal," said Rocky, pointing to a blue dot on the screen.

Suddenly the dot just disappeared.

Rocky quickly opened his computer, "What the fuck, the signal was transmitting like it should. What happened?" He was growing frustrated.

"Could that mean….." said Atlas, doing his best not to cry.

"No, we don't know," said Ryder, who was also shedding a tear. "We'll know more once the drone gets there. In the meantime, I want you guys to prepare to go get Chase. He may be hurt and we'll need to be ready to go get him."

Rocky spoke up, "The good thing is that the drone is still going to where the signal was last recorded." He put a paw on Atlas and pulled him into a hug. He held the German Shepherd, who was crying in his shoulder. "Don't worry. If I know Chase, like the tough son of a bitch he is, he'll be fine." He too was now crying, hoping his friend was okay.

 **With Chase…..**

Chase's head throbbed and pulsed as a headache hit him as he opened his eyes. He groaned in pain and shut his eyes tightly. He grabbed his head, as he tried to get rid of the headache. He tried sitting up but fell back down when another headache wave hit him like a bullet. He screamed in pain but was instantly shut up when he felt a paw on his mouth and throat.

He opened his eyes to see a wolf, the same one from the trail, standing on him. "Shhhhh, you make too much noise," as he continued to push on Chase's neck.

"Enough Delta, you heard what Echo said. He remains alive." The other voice was female, her voice as smooth as stone.

Delta snapped his gaze to the other wolf, "Sorry, Oracle, you know how I can get," as he got off Chase, but held him down, "get carried away with things." He looked back at Chase and left the cave, leaving the other female wolf.

"You alright," she said, her voice caring and worried.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he said, trying to sit up. He planted a paw on his head. "This headache is killing me," his voice coming out with a groan.

"Here try this," as she placed a liquid on the floor in front of him. "It'll help your headache."

Chase reluctantly drank the liquid. "I feel better already," as he slowly sat up, his headache now subsided enough. "Thank you."

She nodded curtly and left the cave.

"Hey where are you going?" he said following her, only to be stopped by two large wolves, who shoved him back into the cave.

Chase growled and was willing to pick a fight with these guys but was stopped short. His eyes were seeing nothing but blurs and he collapsed to the ground and with one last breath, fainted.

 **Back at the lookout…..**

"Hey!" shouted Rocky. "The drone found something." He pulled up a live feed from the drones mounted camera. Everyone was in the room now staring at the screen. They were barely informed of Chase's disappearance

The drone was gliding through the forest along a trail.

"I recognize that trail," said Marshall, who was worried for his friend. "That's the Diamondback Trail, in the national park." Everyone looked at Marshall skeptically. "What, I've hiked that trail hundreds of times."

Everyone looked back towards the screen, and gasped at what the drone had found.

A backpack

"That's Chase's backpack," said Atlas, jumping up in excitement

"Yeah, but where's Chase," said Skye, who was still somewhat crying, after learning the news of her friends disappearance.

"We have to find him, Ryder," said Zuma, the lab was the most distraught and scared than the rest of the group. "I won't be able to live with myself if he gets hurt."

"I understand you, Zuma, but we are doing our best to find him," said Ryder, placing a paw on Zuma's shoulder.

Zuma sniffed and nodded but said nothing as he left the group and went to his room.

"I'll go with him," said Rubble, who was Zuma's best buddy. "I'll make sure he is okay. Keep me updated." He went to the elevator and went down, disappearing into the Lookout.

"Anything else to report Rocky," said Ryder, as the rest of the team left the room. Atlas remained in the room.

Rocky looked at Atlas and reported, "Nothing as of right now but I will continue to have the drone search the surrounding area. I'll report to you if I find anything."

"Sounds good," said Ryder, gesturing for Atlas to leave the room with him.

When they left the room, Atlas said, "Will he be okay Ryder?" his voice was that of a puppy.

"He'll be okay and we will find him. Don't you worry." He left the Shepherd and went to his room. Chase where are you?

 **With Chase…..**

Chase woke up from his slumber. His headache was gone and he sat up. He noticed he was in a different cave. This one had nests made from sticks and leaves. He looked where he was sitting and found he was and found he was in a nest of his own. "At least they made me feel comfortable," he joked. "But I'm still in a cave with a pack of wolves."

He got out of the nest and stretched. He felt the vertebra in his back pop and crack. "Oh that felt good," he smiled and gave his fur a good shake, in which a few twigs and leaves fell to the floor. He looked around the room once more and saw that all the nests were vacant. "Guess they don't trust me."

"No we don't," said a voice, female by the tone of it. A wolf followed by two others came in. The female was gray and the two others were male, both silver. "Leave us," she ordered, and the two bodyguards left the cave.

Chase was sitting in the center of the room, trying to keep calm. For a female wolf, she was very intimidating. She had scars on her entire body, but the most noticeable one was on her left shoulder.

She circled Chase noticing his scars as well. She sniffed him, poked at him and at one point licked him. Once she finished her second revolution, she sat down in front of him, laying her tail on her paws. "My name is Acadia. Your probably wondering why we didn't kill you."

Chase only nodded in response, he still felt uncomfortable from her "inspection" of him.

"Its because one of our own told us that we shouldn't."

"Who?" Chase was now very intrigued. Why would someone among the pack want to save him?

She only stepped out of the cave and looked to her left and gestured for someone to enter the room. A few heartbeats later, a figure entered the room and looked at Chase.

Chase looked at the dog in front of him and stepped back until he bumped into the wall behind him. He recognized the dog anywhere.

"Hey Chase, it's good to see you," spoke the dog, female obviously.

"E-Everest, is that you?" Chase's voice came out in sad happiness. Before he knew it, he was tackled to the ground and pulled into a kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, I am back with a new chapter in Bring Her Home. I want to announce that this story has nearly 2000 views. Thanks for showing your growing support for this story. Any way, Welcome to Bring Her Home Chapter 8**

Chase embraced the dog that was still on top of him, kissing him as though they would see each other again. Chase was all the more excited to see his girlfriend once more but he also was crying. He pushed Everest off him, gently and softly. He let go from the kiss and sucked in a lot of air, trying to control his breathing. His face and eyes were still soaked from crying out. He sat up on his paws and backed up until his back was against the cave wall and looked at Everest.

Everest was a full grown husky now. Her fur long and thick. She had some pretty noticeable scars all over her body but that didn't cover up how beautiful she still was. Chase was almost drooling because of it. Her eyes sparkled and her face looked as young as ever. And her voice was deeper, but still had that sense of love and sweetness, like it always was. Everest turned back towards her comrades and said, "Can you give us a moment please?" Once they left, she looked back towards Chase.

Chase had his face down, doing his best not to look at her. The urge to look at her was very great but Chase fought the urge. Without looking up Chase said, "Why didn't you come home?" His voice was intimidating and depressed. His ears perked in Everest's direction waiting for an answer. He didn't get one. This is when he finally looked back up at Everest, his eyes furious. "Answer the damn question," he seemed to scream.

Everest wasn't threatened by Chase. "Chase, I need you to calm down," her voice as smooth as ice. She slowly and cautiously walked towards Chase. When she was in front of him, she sat down and folded her tail over her paws.

"How am I supposed to calm down? You disappeared and I thought you were dead." Chase's eyes were beginning to water. His emotions fragile and delicate now broken like shattered glass. "I was the last person of the team to quit before Ryder called off the search."

"Wait, there is no more Paw Patrol?" Everest's face showed she was confused. "Just because I was gone doesn't mean they had to quit." Everest was now pacing around the cave, thinking why they left. When she stopped near a nest, she collapsed into it in confusion. "I'm sorry Chase," she said, looking towards the German Shepherd. "I didn't know."

"You still didn't answer my question," he said, still furious. "Why didn't you come home?" He slowly advanced on her and stopped abruptly when she shot up and stood him up. Her fangs were out and she stood ready to fight Chase if need be.

"I was scared to leave, I thought they would hurt me if I tried to leave." She sniffed. She stood down and her eyes began to tear up. "You have no idea what pain, sadness, and the frustration I was in."

Chase quickly grabbed her and pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly. He comforted her as she poured out her eyes into his shoulder. He didn't say anything back. When she was done crying, Chase spoke, "I'm so sorry this happened to you." He also was not crying or at least trying not to. "Do you know why they took you?" He released her from a hug and waited for her response.

She wiped her face and scratched behind her ears and took a deep breath. "The pack took me because this pack runs on recruiting other wolves to join." She looked at Chase, his eyes almost in disbelief.

"They recruit other wolves," said Chase, in disbelief. "What does that have to do with you?"

She continued, "The pack was struggling with recruiting. They had a total of only six pack members: Echo, Edge, Oracle, Acadia, Nova and Archer. But then Archer got killed by a rival pack in a territory fight. He was the pack leader and the pack has not been the same since then. This is when the recruiting has not been the same."

"So I'm guessing that taking you would help them out and that you could help return the pack to its former glory." Everything starts to make sense to Chase, but it didn't change the fact that Everest was still, in a way, missing from his life. "But you seem to be doing just fine, why didn't you leave?"

She didn't say anything as she quickly exited the cave. He saw her tail disappear around the corner and she was gone. A moment later she reentered the cave with three other wolves, one older and the other two young. The old one Chase recognized as Acadia, but he didn't recognize the other two wolves. One was male, the other female. The male was light gray with hazel eyes. The female was dark gray with blue eyes. One thing stood out from the two; they didn't look like wolves.

Everest looked at Chase and spoke, "Chase, the night I came down to the lookout, I was going to tell you something." Her eyes were tearing up. "I didn't get a chance to tell you but…." Her eyes were pouring tears.

The two young dogs stepped forward and stood in front of Chase. Everest stepped in between them and looked at Chase. "Chase, I…..I was pregnant," she looked at the two dogs next to her, who looked back.

Chase's face went bright red, "Are you saying that th-these are m-my ch-children."

Everest nodded, "Yes, this is Jax," she said pointing her nose to the male. She looked at the female, "And this is Holly." She turned and stood with her back to Chase and looked at the two, "You've been nagging me your whole life about who your father was," she looked at Chase, who was still red and staring at the two. "This is your father, Chase."

The two dogs gasped and looked at one another. "Our father is a dog, I thought he was a wolf." He seemed to look at Chase in disgust. The female, Holly, walked up to Chase and hugged him. The hug was weird and awkward but she loved it.

Chase enjoyed the hug he was sharing between him and his daughter. He didn't notice Everest join in on the action. While they embraced each other, Chase looked at Jax. His eyes were full of hatred and anger. He scoffed and exited the cave, clearly not interested in hugging his father. "What is his problem?" Chase was annoyed and curious.

The two she-dogs let go from the hug and Everest spoke, "He is just angry because he thought he grew up without a father, he will come around." She reassured him and went to the entrance of the cave, "Want to have a look around?"

Chase jumped at the opportunity as though it were a criminal getting away from him. The group left the cave. Chase was once again with his girlfriend, no his mate, and was excited to know he was a father.

Back at the lookout, Rocky's drone was still looking for Chase but was having little luck, which made him and the rest of the group frustrated. He got a lot of angry and snarky remarks from the rest of the team minus Ryder and Skye, who was doing his best to keep the peace.

"Why couldn't you have better tech," growled Zuma, hoping is friend wasn't hurt

"Can't you search faster," grumbled Rubble, trying to get Rocky to hurry up

"Why is it taking so long," barked Marshall, who wished he had of gone to look for Chase himself

"You better hope he isn't dead, because if he is then you are next," threatened Atlas, he was the angriest of the group.

Skye did her best to calm everyone down, but timeouts and spankings weren't exactly going to work on these older dogs. Instead she personally went up to everyone, including Ryder and Rocky, and slapped them across the face or muzzle. When she made her rounds of slapping, she yelled at everyone, "THAT IS ENOUGH!"

This caused everyone in the room to freeze up in attention as though they were fresh recruits in the military.

When Skye saw this she spoke, "It isn't Rocky's fault that we can't find Chase." She spoke with a fierce, heart piercing tone signaling to everyone that she meant business. "As far as I know Rocky and Atlas are the only ones that have even tried looking for Chase." She looked at Rocky and Atlas, who nodded in thanks before returning her gaze back to the rest of the group. "If you want results, then get your asses out there and go look for him and if you have nothing to help out with then get out."

By the time she was done speaking, everyone was shaking and a few of the dogs, who shall not be named, leaked a little bit. Marshall and Rubble both looked at each other and at the rest. Marshall stomped out of the room without a word. Rubble was shocked at his former teammates' attitude and looked at the rest of the group. "I'm sorry," he said, as he too rushed out of the room.

Zuma was the only remaining dog of the three that insulted Rocky. His body was trembling in regret and sadness. He seemed to be punishing himself on the inside for rushing Rocky. "I'm sorry you guys, for everything." He sniffed and looked towards Rocky. "It wasn't fair of me to do that to you Rocky, I'm sorry."

Ryder walked up to the lab and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault Zuma, it's Marshall that needs to be sorry."

"No, this idea was mine not Marshall's. Don't blame him for my mistake!"

Ryder just shook his head a left the room, leaving the team without a word.

Feeling as though the awkward silence in the room was about to kill her, Skye spoke up. "I think I might have an idea on how to find Chase." The tone in her voice was very positive and truthful.

"How?" said Rocky. "I can't even find him with my drone."

"Yeah," said Zuma, obviously interested in finding his friend. "What do you have in mind?"

"What is something that Chase was always good at, like such a natural at doing?"

"Lots of things actually: sometimes being a dick, bossing people around, giving people a hard time and always following the rules." Said Rocky, sarcastically

"Rude," said Zuma, annoyed by Rocky's comment. "Chase was good at a lot of things like herding, being a good cop, and he was really good at….." Zuma paused, realizing where Skye might be going. "Do you mean his sense of smell?"

Skye nodded, and she looked over at the elephant in the room known as Atlas. He had backed away from everyone else and placed himself alone, before he got violent. "Hey Atlas," she said getting his attention. "Come here for a second."

Atlas got out of his seat and walked over to the group. "What's up, Skye," he said with a sniff. He, just like Zuma, was also beating himself up for overreacting.

"How good is your smelling?"

"Oh my smelling is absolutely jacked up." He said with a sigh

"Why is that?" asked Rocky

"About a year, I was running a patrol with Chase." He made himself comfortable, as did everyone else. "We had just pulled over a suspicious vehicle and we hoped it would quickly blow over but….."

"But what?" asked Zuma

"The driver pulled a gun on us and got off three shots, one of them hitting me in the nose," he said, revealing a large scar on the right side of his muzzle. "All I remember is waking up in the hospital and found I was not able to smell very good. Now I basically have color blindness but in the nose, so some things smell differently to me. I am sorry but I won't be able to sniff Chase out."

Skye spoke next, "Well that complicates things then now doesn't it."

"Yeah it does, and no one else on the team has a good sniffer," said Zuma.

"Maybe we aren't looking far enough." Said Rocky, jumping up, startling everyone else

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we aren't expanding our horizons enough, we haven't looked into other dogs. And I know just the dog that could possibly help us." He walked over to his laptop and pulled up a file. "Ladies and Gentle pups, I present to you," he said pushing a button on his keyboard. "Silvia, the only other dog I know who has the best sniffer." He seemed to hold something back as he started to pant and go bright red.

"What's wrong Rocky?" asked Atlas

"She also just so happens to be my ex-girlfriend," he said with a whimper.

"Well that complicates things even more now doesn't it," said Skye, trying not to laugh

 **Hey guys, sorry for not posting in at least a week and a half. I have been very busy with work and school but I haven't given up on this story. Thanks to those who stuck around and waited patiently. I know I said I was going to push a chapter or two per week and I am going to try and honor that so expect a chapter out in the next few days. Any who thanks for tuning in. See you on the flip side. Raptor Out**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey Fanfiction and Paw Patrol community, I am back yet again for a new chapter. I also want to inform y'all that chapter one has reached 1,000 VIEWS, which is absolutely amazing. I am going to stop rambling and start typing the story…..starting now.**

Three days had passed and still the pups were still trying to get any leads on Chase, but had very little luck. It took a lot of debate and arguing to figure out who was the 'lucky' dog that was going to try and contact Sylvia. The heat in the room was too much for just about everyone except Atlas. He continued to isolate himself from the rest of the group, sitting on the far side of the room, occasionally giving his opinion. The group was now outside on the Lookout lawn, continuing there debate and actually getting somewhere.

"I think it should be Rocky," said Skye, in an enforcing voice. "He knows her the best."

Rocky resented the idea and bared his teeth at the thought. "Why me!" His voice defensive. "She hates me." His voice quivered and his legs shuddered. He had a scared look in his eye and looked over his shoulder, as if someone was staring at him with body piercing eyes.

Atlas was the first to notice Rocky's unusual behavior. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. No matter how non chalant Rocky was trying to be, Atlas sniffed him out real quick. But Atlas was not irritated by the fact that Rocky was lying but by the fact at how everyone was not figuring out he was. He stared down Rocky and got his attention.

"Is something wrong Atlas?" said Rocky, shaking where he stood

"Oh nothing," he said, looking away. He looked back at the mix-breed. "I just want to know why you are lying." His ears perked up at the sounds of gasps of Zuma and Skye.

"What makes you say that?" demanded Zuma, stepping in front of his friend.

"Yeah," said Skye, obviously irritated by the accusation. "What gives you the right to accu….." A paw covered her mouth and she could see Rocky lean forward a slap Zuma on the back of the head.

"Enough," Rocky demanded. He looked at Atlas. "He's right." He looked at the ground in regret. "I was lying."

Zuma turned around to face his friend. The look he had revealed confusion and curiosity. "What do you mean you were lying?" His voice came out in a whisper.

Skye was just as confused as Zuma was. Rocky never lied to any of them before, until now. She walked up to Rocky and slapped him across the face. Her eyes blazed and her throat growled in fury. "Why did you lie?" This caused everyone to step back in fright.

Rocky gulped. "I-it's because I regret the truth," He looked down to the ground. "You see, Sylvia didn't break up with me. I broke up with her."

"Why?" said Zuma, perplexed. He didn't see any reason why they broke up. "What made you break up with her?"

"When I joined the conservationist's in South America."

"Why is that a reason?" said Atlas, who joined in the group. He was curious.

Rocky inhaled deeply. "She was worried that I was going to get killed." He shook his head. "So I broke it off with her and we went our separate ways and I haven't been in contact since." He got up and walked around and without a word, went inside the lookout leaving the group alone.

When he was sure Rocky was gone, Zuma broke the awkward silence. "It all makes sense."

"What do you mean?" asked Skye, not following

"When I was in my first semester of college, Rocky called me." He looked at Skye and Atlas. "He sounded distraught and depressed. He said he was going to join the conservationists but he didn't mention Sylvia." He licked his lips, and inhaled. "He hung-up the phone after that and wouldn't pick up if I called."

Atlas was confused. "Sorry to be off topic but you guys broke up the team three years ago right."

Skye and Zuma nodded

"Zuma?" he said, getting the labs' full attention. "You're a marine biologist right and you have a bachelors to prove it, right?"

"Yes and yes," said Zuma, confusingly. "What are you getting at?"

"It takes four years to get a bachelors degree, but the team broke up three years ago. How are you a marine biologist?"

Zuma fully understood the situation Atlas was getting at. "It's because I learned everything at a very fast pace and I got a bachelors in two years instead of a full four years."

"Okay, I got my answer. Now which of us is going to call Sylvia?"

"You don't have to worry about that." Said a familiar voice.

The group turned to see Rocky standing there, a lot more cheerful and pleasant than he was earlier.

"I already called her and…." He said, adding a dramatic tone to the atmosphere. "She agreed to help us find Chase."

Zuma and Skye sighed in relief. They were happy to finally have good news.

"But" said Rocky, killing the mood. "She said that she won't be here until tomorrow evening, meaning we won't get out there for two days."

"Why can't she get here sooner?" asked Skye

"She's finishing up a herding competition in New Zealand and won't be on a plane until late tonight." His voice came out in a depressed growl. "So we have to keep looking until then." Something was obviously bothering him but he insisted it was nothing.

"Well then lets get to work and maybe her assistance might not be necessary." Said Skye, reassuringly

The others all nodded in agreement and withdrew back to the lookout, hoping and praying that they would find their friend in time.

Three days doesn't seem like long, but when you are in a cave with a large pack of wolves. Time seems to drag on what seems like forever. Especially when the only times you are allowed to leave the cave are to go to the bathroom or get fresh air. He ate, drank and slept in the cave by himself. But that wasn't the problem for Chase. Jax was the problem.

Chase struggled to get Jax to talk to him. Every time he tried to get close, Jax would snap at him or growl at him. It frustrated Chase but it frustrated his mate as well. Even she was trying her hardest to get Jax to talk to Chase. "He'll talk when he is ready." That's what Everest or Holly would always say to him each time.

Holly took every chance she got to be with her father. Holly and Chase were like the perfect father/daughter relationship ever. They always ate together. When Chase slept in the cave, where he was to be remained isolated for the time being, Holly would sneak in and snuggle up to him and sleep. He would occasionally lean over and nuzzle her ears or give her a goodnight kiss on the cheek.

Even though Everest would scold her each morning when she found her next to Chase, she didn't mind Holly sleeping with her father. In fact she almost encouraged it. She kept telling herself that she it was good for her to be socializing with her father. It was the one person she had been missing her whole life. But today was a special day, it was the day the pack was going to let Chase wander freely throughout the cave. She made her way to Chase's cave, with the pack leader, Ajax, and her daughter close behind her. Everest topped abruptly at the cave entrance and let Ajax and her daughter go in before she followed.

Chase was up licking his fur down from all the sleep he got. For once, surprisingly, Chase had gotten the best sleep he ever had in such a long time. Usually back in Los Angeles he would work double shifts, so he rarely ever got sleep. He stood at attention with his tail sitting across his front paws. Holly gave him a friendly shove and Everest gave a lick on the cheek.

Think god for dark fur, thought Chase. He did blush but the dark fur covered it up like mascara.

Ajax stood in front of Chase, sitting in the same position as him as well. "Good news, Mr. Chase. You get to start wandering around the cave freely today."

"Thank y….," started Chase, who was cut off short

"But if you plan on, lets say, going outside. You will have to have an escort." His tone was threateningly serious. "You will get to go home soon but not yet."

"Why is that?" Chase was confused. Why would they not just let him go? "Why can't I just go home now?" Not that Chase wanted to just yet, for certain reasons I'm pretty sire you can figure out.

"You are familiar with how are pack operates, no? said Ajax, casting a glance at Everest and Holly.

Chase responded with a nod. "You operate based off of recruitment."

"Correct," smiled Ajax, who began to walk around the room but continued to talk. "You are being put to the test." He looked once more at Everest and Holly and snapped his nose towards the cave entrance. "Can you two give us a minute?"

The two females cast goodbye glances at Chase and left without a word.

Suddenly he felt a pain in his chest and the breath was knocked out of him. He collapsed to the ground, trying to catch his breath but was cut short when a paw kept kicking him in the chest repeatedly. As much as he tried to call for help, he couldn't. A second later, he was being held down with a paw on his throat.

He looked up and saw Jax standing there with a look of victory in is eyes. The look he made when he made a big kill or won a fight between a rival wolf. It was the look of a dog poised to kill. As fast as the torture came, it disappeared like smoke. Jax left with his head and tail held high and a smile across his face.

Chase got to his paws slowly, regaining his footing as he stumbled ever so slightly. He filled his lungs to their max, savoring the air as if it was his last. Once he got his breath, he growled and spat at Ajax who sat calmly in front of Chase, as if not threatened at all. "What the hell was that for?" He shouted loud enough to notice Holly stick her nose in the entrance.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, oblivious to what just happened

Ajax snapped his gaze back towards Holly, sending her off with a piercing gaze. "That was a test, those who could recover quickly are moved on to the next stage." He said returning his gaze back to Chase. "You just passed stage one with flying colors." He walked towards the cave entrance, stopped and looked back. "Welcome to the pack training 101," he said as he exited the cave.

Everest and Holly rushed in immediately after he left and hugged Chase. "Are you okay?" asked Holly, worried he may be hurt. She even examined him for wounds, but found only that his chest and neck were bruised.

"I'm so sorry, love." Said Everest, apologetically. "I should have told you that he was going to do that."

"You probably had your reasons not to," groaned Chase. Blood was dripping from a wound on his neck, which Everest noticed. She began to thoroughly lick the wound, getting the blood to clot and seal the wound.

"If she had of brought it up with you before it happened, he would have killed you," whispered Holly.

"Hey lets take this guy and show him the cave," suggested Everest, a little more cheerful than before. "You know because he can now."

Chase and Holly both nodded enthusiastically. Chase went to the entrance of the cave and stopped. He looked back with a blank face and said, "Lead the way." He stepped aside and let the she-dogs pass before following.

The cave system was massive according to Everest. It could house up to fifty wolves and had nearly thirty different caves. And each cave had a different intended purpose. The largest one was for the pack leader and other decorated pack members. Another, yet smaller, one was intended for younger, more juvenile members. They had a nursery for pregnant members. "That was the best experience I had in my life," said Everest, who spent her pregnancy in there.

But all the caves led to a large, central clearing which acted as a hub for the entire pack. In the center of the clearing, grew a large cherry blossom tree. Its flowers in full bloom, shining bright pink from the added sunlight. Everyone turned to look in their direction, some looks greeting and others disgusted. They didn't notice Ajax join them. And the looks disappeared as everyone returned to what they were previously doing. "I hope I didn't hurt you too much, Chase." He said looking at Chase, who gave him a confused look.

"Why do you care? What makes me any different?"

They began to walk through the clearing. "Everest told me about your life on the Paw Patrol. Pretty impressive I might add. Multiple rescues, great team leader, and good under pressure. Am I wrong?" he questioned.

"You haven't said anything wrong so far. Please proceed."

He stared down Holly and Everest, "Can you give us a moment?" Holly and Everest stood in place and Everest started to growl. "Don't worry, I won't hurt him. The rest comes easy." They left with a hug and disappeared into one of the cave hallways.

"Why did you make them leave?"

"I just wanted to get your opinion on your children. I know you didn't know about them until you showed up here."

"These past few days have been the most stressful, I have ever had." He took a seat next to a root of the tree. "but they have been some of the happiest as well. I learned that my mate is still alive. I also learned that I am the father to two beautiful, healthy children. Even though one resents me." That last part came out in a whisper.

"If you want me to, I will talk to him and see what's really up." He placed a paw on Chase's shoulder.

"That would be wonderful if you did. I don't know why he hates me."

Suddenly a loud commotion, came from one of the caves. "HEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPPP," shouted a voice from the cave. Ajax rushed to the cave with Chase close in tail. He turned into a large open cave which held sick and injured pack members. There was a large gathering of wolves on the far side of the room.

"Move, out of my way," ordered Ajax, shoving and pushing wolves out of the way. When he looked down at the injured dog he gasped and looked back at Chase.

Everyone went silent, as they looked at the injured dog and back at Chase continuously

Chase slowly walked towards Ajax and the wolves made a path for him to walk on. Ajax got in his way, stopping him. "Chase, you don't want to see this," whispered Ajax.

"Why? Who got hurt?" He started to growl threateningly to force Ajax's paw into telling him.

Instead of telling him, he moved aside revealing someone that Chase barely knew, but loved so much. The injured dog was Jax.

 **Thirty minutes earlier, Diamondback trailhead**

Rocky, Skye, Atlas and Zuma had made it to the trailhead as quick as possible. Sylvia was waiting for them on a bench, when they arrived. The Belgian Sheepdog was stunning. Her Bluish-Gray fur shined bright and her eyes twinkled like stars. She approached the group and hugged each and everyone minus Atlas, because they did not know each other. "It is good to see you guys after so long." She didn't even seem bothered by Rocky being there. She looked at Rocky as he reached into the car and grabbed his gun, which he always kept in his room in the lookout. "Rocky, can we talk?"

"We are talking right now, aren't we?" He seemed bothered by her talking to him

"Don't disrespect me. You are the one who broke off our relationship in the first place. So if you are bothered by the fact that I am here, don't be. You wanna know why?"

"Because I was the one who called you here," he sighed. "Look, I'm sorry if I hurt you by ending our relationship. If I could change that I would but you probably don't want to be with me anymore anyway." He closed the car door, locking it and walked towards the trail. He looked at everyone, "Let's go." And the group set off on the trail. During the hike, Rocky and Sylvia had isolated themselves from each other. Everyone was quiet and weren't really interested in talking.

Rocky got a beep on his wrist and pulled up his wrist to see what was up. Being the inventor and genius that Rocky was, he created a simpler but far more advanced version of an OPSAT. Rocky bragged that he built it based on information he got in a video game. He pushed a few buttons on its interface and a holographic map of the area in a two mile radius popped up. A bright white line showed the trail, a blue triangle for their location and a red dot where the drone was last. "Come on, the drone is a hundred yards farther along the trail," he instructed, as he let the group pass. He stepped in front of Sylvia before she passed, stopping her in her tracks.

"What do you want, Rocky?"

Rocky said nothing as he pulled Sylvia in for a kiss. He forced his tongue into her mouth and hers into his. He pulled out and stepped back and was slapped across the muzzle.

"What was that for?"

"Its my way of saying, that I am sorry for everything," he said, apologetically

"Rocky, you did what was best for the both of us. You were protecting me in the event that you could get hurt or killed. I forgive you Rocky."

She was starting to walk past Rocky, when he placed a paw on her shoulder. "Yes?" she asked

"When this is all over, do you want to start over?"

"I'd be honored to," she exclaimed, revealing a joyous and happy smile.

 _SNAP!_

Rocky quickly grabbed his gun and aimed it where the snap came from. He saw a light gray dog with hazel eyes. His mouth was sporting some sharp teeth and his eyes blazed in fury. He didn't notice the other wolves behind him. He charged Rocky with claws out.

Rocky feared for his life and held the gun up and pulled the trigger.

 _BAM!_

The dog hit the ground hard and the wolves rushed to his aid. "JAX," screamed one of the wolves.

Rocky saw that the dog was still breathing, but his breath came out in short, shallow puffs. Rocky still had the gun up in the event that the wolves decided to harm Rocky or Sylvia.

One of the wolves got up from his friend and approached Rocky and Sylvia. "You will pay for this," he threatened. He returned to Jax and helped put him across his friends back and helped support him. The two wolves glared at Rocky as they disappeared into the trees and out of sight.

Rocky collapsed to the ground. "What have I done?"

 **Hey that was a long chapter. Over 3000 words actually. Any who, you are probably wondering why I haven't posted in a while. It's because I have been sick pretty much since I posted the last chapter. But I am feeling much better and I'm gonna do two chapters this week just to make up for being absent. One more thing, my username has changed and it will stay that username. Thanks for tuning in for another chapter and I'll see you on the next one.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I got a real quick question. WHY IS IT THAT ROCKY IS THE ONE THAT ALWAYS HURTS OTHERS? For Example: Pedz who wrote Puppy Boot Camp, Adventure Bay National Park and now Return to the Park. Rocky has somehow harmed someone. I'm not saying I have a problem with it. I want to know, why Rocky? What sets him apart from everyone else and why he should be the violent one.**

 **Anyway, I am thinking of writing another story. IF YOU HAVE ANY GOOD IDEAS PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT OR PM ME. (If you even read the intro's and outro's). Enough of my rambling and lets dive into a new chapter of Bring Her Home. (Which I'm gonna try to push to 4,000 words) Wish me luck!**

There was still blood on the ground, where Jax had been shot. The crimson blood turned brown and blended in with the soil. But the aroma of blood still lingered the air, filling everyone's noses with a yucky smell of death.

Rocky on the other hand was a different story. The young mix-breed lay on the ground shuddering, enough to make the earth under him vibrate softly. In his paw, he still clutched the pistol. The barrel had residue on it and left a black spot if someone touched it. His eyes and face were wet from the waterfall of salty tears that continued to pour out of his eyes. Even though the incident happened an hour prior.

The rest of the hiking group had showed up right after the wolves had carried Jax, gingerly, away into the woods. Sylvia stuttered to try and explain what had happened; as she was very scared as well. But after some attempted reassurance from Skye, she managed to explain what happened. She told them how Rocky had stopped her, and when they kissed. She then explained the real problem at hand, I mean paw. Sylvia began to describe the horror of the attack and how Rocky was just protecting himself.

Atlas, being a detective, was nodding in approval because what Rocky did was justified. He felt threatened for his life and acted in self-defense. Even though he was still confident Rocky wouldn't harm anyone, he still grabbed the pistol from Rocky's paw and quickly put it on safe and in his bag. By the time he was done with stowing the weapon, he noticed that Zuma, Skye and Sylvia had helped Rocky to his paws and refused to leave his side.

The mix-breed continued to shudder and look wildly around in fear. The threat from the wolves had gotten into his mind and it made him feel paranoid. He feared for his life. "Can you take me to the Lookout, please?" He begged them, even added a little whine to convince them.

"I was gonna suggest the same thing," announced Zuma. "He has been through a lot as it is."

"It's in his best interest that he goes home and rests," explained Sylvia, who felt sorry for Rocky. "No one should ever have to experience something like that." She snuggled up to Rocky, exchanging her body heat with his very heated body, which caused both dogs to pant slightly.

Looking at the sky and then at his watch, Atlas stared off into space and pondered. His head tilting from side to side, trying to think of the best option. His head stopped moving, showing he had made his mind. "With as much time and daylight we have left, I think we should push on," stated Atlas.

"Not to rain on your parade, dude, but have you seen the state Rocky is in?" argued Zuma. "He doesn't look he could go much farther. He needs to be at the Lookout."

Atlas had already thought about this question himself. "I understand and I have a solution to that as well." Zuma's ears perked in anticipation. "We all go to last known place where Chase was and then, You and Skye can take Rocky the rest of the way through the trail and the take the car back to the Lookout."

"Not to critique your clever thinking but how are you two supposed to get back if we take the car?" asked Skye

"I'll give him a ride," responded Sylvia.

"W-works for m-me, as long as…I-I get back to the loo-lookout," stuttered Rocky, trying to crack a joke which got a few giggles from Sylvia and Skye. And Rocky went silent mode yet again.

"Well then that settles it lets push on," ordered Atlas. He waited until Zuma and Sylvia had coaxed Rocky to walk between the two them for support. He was still shaking but was very unnoticeable. He looked as though he could collapse from exhaustion or shock at any moment. Atlas let them take the lead as he brought up the rear, just so Rocky didn't have to keep constantly looking over his shoulder. The group set off along the trailhead, their minds on the hunt for their missing friend.

The procedure for Jax had taken nearly half a day. He had been shot through his chest, but the bullet didn't puncture or severe any lungs or arteries. Chase pondered at how the wolves were able to learn these things. Who never knew that wolves were so sophisticated and advanced. They had three of the wolves to act as Healers for the entire pack, two regular healers and one lead healer. They knew how to use plants that were native to the park and make anything from a poultice that soothed sore spots to a poultice that could cure the worst sickness's to wolves.

While Jax was recovering, Ajax and Chase got a chance to talk to the wolves that carried his injured son back. He first told them how grateful he was for them and how they had his respect.

Ajax also thanked them, but was brief. "Now explain to us what happened?" His voice was calm and cool but you could hear the yearning for answer's deep in it.

One of the wolves spoke up, her name was Rose because of her fiery red fur. "Well we were out patrolling when we came across an elk. And I know we aren't supposed to hunt on patrols but it could have fed the entire pack twice it was so big so we chased it."

The other wolf slapped her, His name was Slade, his fur was all black. "That's not the point. We did chase after it but that isn't how he got hurt."

"Then how did he?" demanded Chase, looking towards Jax who was fighting for his life. He wasn't out of the woods yet.

"We came across the Diamondback Trail but the elk had disappeared and we lost its scent. So we decided to run down the trail. And that's when we came across the hikers," said Slade

Ajax was furious. His heart raced and his eyes blazed in fury. "You know you shouldn't follow the human trails," he spat. "It leads to confrontation's like these and someone could get hurt." He stopped talking and let his fur lie down.

"What did these people look like?" asked Chase

"That's the thing, they weren't humans. They were dogs." Said Rose

"What did they look like?" demanded Chase

"There were five of them: A black German Shepherd, a chocolate lab, a gray mix-breed, a smaller dog, female by her smell, with pink eyes and a herding type dog, I have never seen before." Answered Slade

Chase gasped in horror as he realized who Slade was talking about. It was his friends: Atlas, Rocky, Zuma, Skye and, his old herding nemesis, Sylvia.

"Is everything alright, Chase?" asked Ajax, worryingly.

Ignoring Ajax, he questioned Slade more. "You said that Jax was shot?"

Slade nodded

"Can you tell me which dog shot him?" His voice worried at which of his friends could have possibly done it.

"I-it was the ummmmm….," said Slade stuttering

"Which one was it?" He restrained himself from shouting, but could burst in rage at any moment.

"The mix-breed. It was the mix-breed," whispered Rose, as she comforted Slade.

Chase said nothing as he left the cave with his head down and his tail dropping.

"Chase is everything, alright?" asked Ajax, worried about Chase

Chase simply ignored him as he left the confused pack leader and the two others.

He returned to his cave, where he stayed and collapsed into his nest. He set his pride aside and began to cry in his nest. Why do things like this happen? He thought. He never took Rocky for a violent type, he was more of a pacifist. But he was wrong, Rocky had shot his son.

Everest and Holly rushed into the room to find him curled up in a ball in his nest. His fur was drenched and his eyes were red. They had just learned the devastating news and rushed to him. Holly collapsed into Chase's chest, knocking the wind out of him, and began to cry into his shoulder. Everest settled in behind Chase and was crying as well. The group lay there crying, and didn't seem like they were going to stop. But for some strange reason, Chase jumped out of the nest, still crying, but it slowly changed to a burning rage. His tail lashed and he kept hitting his head on the wall.

Everest watched him in distraught. She had never seen him like this. He was usually more locked up with his emotions. She had the edacity to even speak to him, while he was still angry. "Chase, I know your upset he is hurt, but the healers said he would be ok."

"I know that," he retorted. "I'm just restraining myself from going out and brutally injuring the dog who did this."

"You know who did it?" questioned Holly, who wiped a tear from her eye

"Yes," responded Chase, who seemed regretful of his decision. "It is someone who I grew up with; who I trusted."

"Who did it, Chase?" demanded Everest, who seemed poised to hurt this person as well.

Chase stood there, not knowing how to respond to his mate. If he told her, she would harm him. But if he didn't tell her, she hurt him until he told her. "The dog that hurt our son was…," He paused, wondering if he should lie. But he chose not to, if he lied then he would never forgive himself. Technically, he wouldn't forgive himself either way. So no matter what answer he gave, he would be hurt. He only whispered one name and one name only, "Rocky."

Everest gasped loudly, enough for a few wolves passing the cave to stop and look her way. Their perplexed looks not giving any signs of asking what the problem was, so they continued on their way. "Why would Rocky do such a thing?" Her voice demanding an answer. "He never hurt anyone in his life?"

But she was wrong and Chase knew it. He knew what Rocky did in South America. How he catches the loggers and what he does to them before he turns them over to the authorities. But he wasn't going to tell Everest the truth. "That is true," he said, lying to Everest's heartbroken face. "He has never hurt anyone, as far as I know." He added that last part to give himself some relief from lying to both Everest and Holly.

"What will you do now?" asked Holly, who sniffed her nose, obviously not detecting the lie.

"I don't know," answered Chase, who was just as confused as she was. "Part of me wants to forgive Rocky, yet another part of me wants to harm him." He lay down on his side and stared off into space.

"You should hurt him, dad!" shouted Holly, trying to understand her father. "He hurt my brother; your son. He should pay for what he did."

"But what will that make me: a monster." He retorted, very frustrated with his daughter. "If I hurt Rocky, let alone kill him, it won't make things better. It will only make things worse." He agreed with his daughters judgment, but he also knew it was from her emotional state. Her protective sibling instinct was clouding her mind, making her not think straight. She wasn't seeing the big picture.

Holly stared at her father with a flustered posture. "Fine, if you won't do something, I will," she spat, as she started to stomp out of the cave. Only to be stopped by Ajax, who had a disappointed look on his face. He had heard their entire conversation.

"Now, where do you think you're going, huh?" His voice determined to get an answer from her one way or another.

She gulped. "I was going to go see my brother, and see how he was doing." Her voice stuttered and Ajax shoved her back into the room.

"That's what I thought, but first, I would like a word with you and your father," He said as he began to look at Everest.

Everest got the message and began to leave. "I'll be with Jax if you need me," she said as she exited the cave.

He turned his head to make sure that no one was standing in the entrance before turning back towards Chase and Holly. Chase had already sat up and Holly took up position next to him but distanced herself by about three feet. "Now, why are you two fighting?" As far as he knew, the two of them loved and cared about one another very much, even though they knew each other for only a few days. "It always pains me to see when two of my members fight," said Ajax, his voice soft as wool. "Especially when they are related to one another."

Chase looked at Holly, who returned the gaze. The dark gray dog had a look of guilt and regret and Chase felt sorry for her. He shuffled over until his fur touched hers and he leaned his head over until it rested on hers. Not moving his head, his eyes pointed at Ajax. "Why do you care? You barely know me and I barely know you." He whispered, not frustrated or angry. His voice wanted an answer.

"I know enough," answered Ajax smoothly.

"What do you mean?" asked Chase, intriguingly

"Based on what your mate, Everest, has told me. You are strong, smart, and brave. Your leadership skills are that of a wolf pack leader. Not to toot my own horn," he said, being overly proud of himself. "But what makes you stand out from the crowd is that you have remorse for those that hurt you, like your mix-breed friend Rocky."

Chase didn't know what to say to Ajax's kind and well thought words. Yet, he still didn't know what the best path to go down was. He never killed or injured someone out of revenge, except for when Atlas got shot in the nose. But that was a split second decision that had to be made or else he would have been injured, maybe killed.

He lifted his head off Holly and he heard a faint snoring. Looking toward her, he saw that she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He gingerly lifted her up, with the help of Ajax, and laid her in a distant nest. She was very cute when she slept and he and Ajax retreated quietly to the other side of the cave.

"You know, for a first time father, you are a natural," praised Ajax

"Thanks, it must be the German Shepherd blood. Guess it comes instinctively," said Chase, but he sighed, killing the pleasant mood.

"Is everything alright?" asked Ajax

"It's just that I don't know what to do about Rocky." His ears and tail drooped

"I think I might know how to help you."

"How?" asked Chase

"You need to go and forgive him. It's what's best. Believe me! As pack leader, I have to make those decisions that I may not like, but it is what is best for both sides that counts," explained Ajax

"Are you forgiving, Rocky?" asked Chase, hoping not to change his mind.

"It pains me to say this but, Jax got what was coming to him." Which earned a slight gasp of horror from Chase but Ajax continued. "He chose and made his own decision that led to him being injured. Your friend, Rocky, was acting in self-defense. Jax probably would have killed him otherwise. I'm sorry but it is true."

The detective that was eating inside him, kept telling Chase in his mind that Ajax was right. Rocky acted in self-defense; Atlas would have said the same thing. Any cop would really. This changed everything and gave Chase a whole new perspective on things. He now felt, as though, he had to go see Rocky and forgive him for his actions, but not yet. He still wanted to stay with the wolves for a little while and if his friends found him in that time, then he would go. But in the mean time, he was going to stay right where he was. "Thank you, Ajax. You have really helped me more than I thought you would. And if the time does come, then it would be an honor to join your pack."

"Wow, Chase!" exclaimed Ajax. "I don't know what to say. You would really give up a honest job for a pack life." He was overjoyed and jumped like an excited child on Christmas

"I know that sounds crazy, but these last few days have really shed some light on where I want to live my life. And you really helped me achieve that today, Thank you," he said, holding out a paw.

Ajax gladly reached out and took Chase's paw. "Your still not mad about me beating the shit out of you, are you?"

"Nah, I've had worse when I wrestled with siblings," joked Chase, giving Ajax's torture a put down.

"I'll keep that in mind," joked Ajax giving Chase, a friendly, yet evil stare.

About the time they were done shaking hands, Everest burst into the room. Her face happier than Chase has seen it in a long time. Her look of happiness, brought back the multiple memories of them together. Their first date, their first kiss, their first time mating, and the many adventures they shared together. She was practically speechless as no words came out when she tried to speak.

"What is it, Everest?" asked Ajax and Chase, in unison

She finally spilled out a phrase that made everything in the world seem brighter. "It's Jax, he finally woke up and get this," she said staring at her mate. "He wants to see you, Chase."

"Then lets not keep him waiting," persisted Chase, as he led the charge to the Healers den.

"You go ahead, I'm going to get some sleep," responded Everest, as Chase and Ajax disappeared from the room like smoke.

Chase didn't even hear her as he booked it as hard as he could. Nearly slamming into wolves as he made his way to the den. Once he arrived, he slowed down and caught his breath. He felt a paw on his shoulder. It was Ajax.

"I have some important matters to attend to. I'll see you later," he said to Chase

Chase nodded and began to enter the den

"And Chase?" said Ajax

Chase stopped and looked at Ajax

"Good luck, and take it slow. It's probably best not to rush him," said Ajax, in a order giving way

Chase nodded once more and entered the den. Inside was a large flat rock, where the injured and sick were checked up on. But there was one problem, Jax wasn't on it. Where could he be, thought Chase.

"Ahem," came a mystery voice behind him. "Can I help you there friend?"

Chase turned around to see one of the healers standing in front of him. She had white fur, that shined like silver, and bright eyes, as blue as the sky. He inhaled her scent and it smelt crisp and beautiful. But not as beautiful as Everest he thought. "Sorry," he responded. "I was just looking for my son, Jax."

"Ah, you are the father that he keeps nagging for," she giggled. She lifted a paw and pointed to the far side of the cave. "He is in the recovery room and as far as I know he is awake. He was when I left earlier."

"Thank you so much, ummmm…..," struggled Chase, trying to get a name

"Zoe, my name is Zoe," she responded, giving the poor dog a break.

"Thank you, Zoe," he said, as he turned and headed for the recovery room.

Inside he found an assorted group of nest's lined along the wall. In the center of the room, he found a small pond. "Probably so they can get a drink, so they don't have to go very far," he said to himself, as quietly as possible. He didn't want to disturb anyone resting.

"Dad, is that you?" asked a voice from a nest on the far side of the cave.

"Jax?" called out Chase, curiously. Maybe the wolf had the wrong dog

"It's me." Responded the voice

Chase rushed over to the nest to find his son with cobwebs and leaves wrapped around his chest. Chase gently grabbed Jax and hugged him but not too tight. He didn't want to damage the intricate bandaging. "It's good to know that you are ok," he smiled, as a tear escaped and ran down his cheek. "I thought I was going to lose you."

"Well, I'm going to be fine according to Zoe. She's so hot," he exclaimed, apparently revealing a crush. "But I don't think she even likes me."

"Don't worry about it, I bet you if you ask her, she might tell you," said Chase, reassuring

For some odd reason, Jax began to break down into tears.

"Jax, what's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry, dad," cried Jax. "It's my fault I got hurt and it's my fault you hate me."

That comment struck Chase in the heart like a spear. "I don't hate you Jax."

Jax sniffed and looked up at Chase, "Well you should, I have done nothing but ignore you and ben rude to you ever since you got here." He tucked his head under his paws and continued the waterworks

"Jax," he said, planting a paw on his back. "I would never hate you. True, I didn't appreciate the behavior you had towards me but I can understand why you did it."

"How could you? You probably grew up with a father in your life. Am I right?"

"Actually, I am just like you."

"You are nothing like me," he retorted.

"My old man died before I even opened my eyes. I only know what he looks like from photos."

"But your not dead, so how does that make you like me?" He asked

"Because, I grew up without a father just like you until now. You learned a few days ago that I was your dad and you resented me. I want to know why, please," he whispered

"Because I didn't want to believe that a dog like yourself, kind and respectful, could have been related to a, good for nothing, punk like myself."

"But now that the truth is out, what is your opinion of me now?" asked Chase curiously

"I know that deep down inside me, I actually love you," said Jax, his voice truthful. He laid his head down as the excessive chatting had wore him out. And within a few heartbeats, Jax fell asleep with a smile on his face

"I love you too, son," said Chase, as he leaned down and kissed his son on the forehead.

He left Jax in the paws of Zoe, who heard a lot of their conversation. She even had a few joyful tears roll down her eyes. "Take good care of him, please," he asked her

"I will and one more thing," she asked

"Yes?"

"When he wakes up again, can you tell him that I do like him?"

"It would be an honor to," responded Chase

"Thank you, I don't have the guts to tell him myself," she said, exhaling deeply. "He's kinda cute!"

"Take care, Zoe," giggled Chase, as he left the den.

He found himself in the central clearing when Ajax stepped in front of him with a smile on his face

"Hey Ajax, what's up?" clearly seeing he was in a good mood.

"Good news, Chase. We found some of your friends on the trail and we brought them here. But it was only two of them." Without another word, Ajax turned and led Chase down a cave hallway he hadn't been in before. Ajax stopped in front of a particular cave that was guarded by ,yet again, the two large wolves from before. He allowed Chase to enter the cave and that's when he saw them. He saw two dogs: one he worked with and one he worked against. One of them looked up at him and gasped in shock.

"Chase, is that you?"

 **I did it. 4,000 words. I didn't think I could do it but I did. Any way I waned to ask you all some questions:**

 **What do you like about the story?**

 **What do you hate?**

 **More detail or less detail?**

 **More dialogue or less dialogue?**

 **I really do like an honest answer. If you don't answer the questions, IT WON'T HURT MY FEELINGS, it is just to get some insight from you, the viewers. Anyway, the next chapter I plan to get out on 02-26-2016 or the following day. One or the other so expect a chapter by then. Also all chapters are gonna have a minimum of 3,000 words and a max of nothing because I could type forever. I'M PROBABLY KEEPING YOU FROM ANOTHER STORY, IF SO, THEN YAY. I MANAGED TO KEEP YOU THIS LONG. SUCCESS! I'LL SEE YOU LATER GUYS AND GALS, IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, ATLAS OUT**


	11. Chapter 11

**I just want to waste a few seconds of your life and thank you, my viewers. You guys have given me more than a huge passion for Paw Patrol, but an even bigger passion for writing fanfics. My first story that I ever shared with anyone on the internet, hit over 3,000 views yesterday. That makes me so happy and it makes me want to write more. One other thing. Some of you viewers and frequent comment leavers, *cough* Marshall B *Cough* PBJNachos *Cough*. Sorry, I got the coughs as you can see. Anyway, I asked a few questions in the end of the last chapter and if I am not mistaken, only one person answered them. I WANT EVERYONE TO ASNWE THE QUESTIONS, PLEASE! So it would do me great pleasure if you could take the thirty seconds to answer the questions and leave them in a comment so I can review them. I want to see what I may possibly be doing wrong. Enough rambling, Atlas, your making viewers leave with your stupid intros.**

 **WELCOME TO CHAPTER 11, OF ATLASXACTUALS'S, BRING HER HOME! ENJOY!**

Chase couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him. What were they doing here? Why were they here? But he noticed something out of the ordinary. Atlas seemed very skittish of his surroundings. His whole body trembled with the unfamiliar location and the very unfriendly faces. The whites of his eyes were very prominent. He seemed as though he was going to faint at any moment. On his paw, he noticed was wrapped in gauze with two sticks on each side of his wrist. The brace he was wearing was making him put all his weight on his left leg.

"Atlas?" he called out, getting the dogs attention. "What happened to your paw?" he asked, pointing towards the gauze. He looked at Ajax. "Did your wolves hurt him?"

"Chase, it's fine. I broke my paw myself. Long story!" said Atlas, defending himself.

Ajax didn't answer but someone else did. "We found him like that."

"It's true," said another wolf. "He was already like that when we found him and your friends."

"Consider yourself lucky," said Chase, but instantly regretted it. He nodded in apology for the accusation and turned his gaze to Sylvia.

Sylvia, unlike Atlas, was surprisingly calm. Chase admired at her relaxed state. As though she had done this before. But she was, like Atlas, having harder troubles breathing. Yet, her fur was flat and her ears perked in anticipation. As if something was going to happen at any given moment. She looked at Chase and lock eyes with him, recognizing him. Her piecing gaze causing some of the other present wolves to become wary. "It's good to see you, Chase," she added challengingly before having a fit of coughing. "What are you going to do now? Send your pack onto me?" she spoke as though she knew what was going to come of her and coughed once more.

Chase ignored her and noticed something odd about the two. Every once and a while, they would grab their heads. What caused them to do that? Were they hurt in some way, shape or form? He strolled up to Atlas and surveyed him. He was having slight trouble breathing and he favored one front paw over the other. Turning towards Ajax, he asked, "What did you do to them?"

Ajax didn't respond He only stared blankly at Chase.

Chase barked. "Answer the damn question, Ajax." He added ferociously. "What did you and your wolves do to my friend?" His eyes burned at Ajax in frustration. Why is he not saying anything? He thought. Ajax had been honest with him the entire time he had been in the cave. Since day one. But now, he was locking himself up like Fort Knox. "Well," Chase demanded. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"Maybe you should ask your friends before you ask me," said Ajax, with a snap of his tail

Chase hadn't thought of asking his friends, only the dog behind it. He turned towards Sylvia as Atlas seemed too distraught to even speak. "What happened out there and where is everyone else?"

She stared at Chase intensely. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said, baring her teeth at the surrounding wolves. The fur on her neck and back starting to spike up a little bit. She was frightening even if she had the coughs.

Chase nodded. "I would actually, and," pretending he had a watch on his wrist. "I got the time."

She sheathed her fangs and let her fur relax. She cast a angry glare around the room before returning her gaze to Chase, who waited patiently. "It all happened when we were on the trail."

 **Flashback. Diamondhead trail.**

They were nearing the drone now. Closer than they were before which each paw step. But it was struggling for a few. Rocky especially. The mix-breed kept turning down water and the occasional bit of food. He was still frightened out of his fur. He didn't speak and was always gazing behind only to be greeted by a warm and friendly face. Atlas's face.

The German shepherd would always have a content look on his face when Rocky turned his head back. Trying to reassure him in a positive way. But by the constant turns of the head from Rocky, he wasn't making very much progress. He looked up ahead of the group towards Sylvia.

The Belgian Sheepdog had her head drooping and her tail dragging. Picking up dirt and sticks causing it to be lodged in her fur. But she didn't seem to care. She was worried about Rocky, the dog she still loved. Seeing Rocky like that was tough on her as she was too unfamiliar with him like that. She was used to him being happy and seemingly unafraid of anything. But those thoughts were caught in a web of sadness, hoping to be untangled but unsuccessful.

Skye and Zuma, who stayed at Rocky's side were looking as though they could pass out at any moment. Atlas had offered multiple times to take over for either one of them but was rejected. They were both panting hard.

"We should stop and rest," suggested Atlas, worried about the distressed state of his friends.

"No!" exclaimed Zuma. "We need to get Rocky back to the Lookout as soon as possible."

"I agree with Zuma," said Sylvia. "If we take breaks than we lose time for finding Chase."

"But what about Rocky?" cried Skye. "Have you even thought about him and what he wants?"

Sylvia planted a paw on the ground, stopping the group in their tracks. She turned on Skye with her teeth bared. "You don't think I care about Rocky's opinion in all this?"

Skye walked away from Rocky and stood in Sylvia's face, her teeth bared and ready to fight.

Sensing an imminent fight brewing, Atlas stepped between the two girls. "That's enough, both of you." He noticed both girls start to relax but say nothing. "We obviously need to stop and rest. And you two," he said, pointing at Skye and Sylvia . "You are going to set aside your differences and apologize to each other. Or else?"

"Or else, what officer?" challenged Sylvia. "You going to shoot me?"

Everything went quiet as well as everyone. Quiet enough to hear the stream nearby flowing slowly. What Sylvia said had just flipped a switch in Atlas that rarely got touched.

Atlas grabbed Sylvia by the throat and threw up against a nearby tree holding her there. "AND WHY ON EARTH WOULD I DO THAT, HUH?"

He didn't wait for a response

"SO I COULD GO TO JAIL FOR MURDER AND SIT IN PRISON FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE?"

This when Sylvia started convulsing from the lack of oxygen but Atlas didn't care. He so desperately wanted to harm this dog for being rude. But his thought process kicked in causing him to realize what he was doing was wrong. He released Sylvia, causing her to collapse to the ground. She coughed when she inhaled too much oxygen and looked up at Atlas. He looked at her apologetically realizing what he could have done to her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," he whispered, before walking a few yards down the trail and sitting with his back facing the group.

Sylvia couldn't believe what just happened. He almost tried to kill her. She knew why. It was her snappy comments that caused him to attack. She began to weep quietly to herself, regretting her comments that caused Atlas to snap.

"I guess this would be a perfect time to rest now," said Zuma, shocked about what just happened. He led Rocky to a flat area along the side of the trail and plopped on the ground with a dull thud. Rocky and Skye soon did the same thing and all three dogs lay there resting. Hoping their strength would come back quickly.

Suddenly, a ding from Rocky's retro OPSAT sound off through the forest. Echoing off the trees and rocks in what seemed like forever, going father and farther until it couldn't be heard no more. This caught Atlas's attention and he rushed over to Rocky, who was to weak and tired to react his sudden presence. He grabbed Rocky's wrist softly with his paw stared into the OPSAT. The drone was about fifty more yards down the trail. He set Rocky's wrist down and jumped in the air with excitement.

"I know everyone is tired but the drone is just down the trail," exclaimed Atlas.

"We will go when we are ready. You are no the boss around here," argued Sylvia, getting annoyed.

"Fine, have it your way," he started to walk down the trail. "I'll see you down there."

"Atlas, wait," said Sylvia, but it was no use. Atlas was already to far down the trail. She looked at Rocky. The mix-breed was resting judging by the rise and fall of his chest. Skye and Zuma were awake but were still resting. She spoke out to them. "We should be following him. It's dangerous right now, especially with wolves being close by."

Zuma was confused at her change of views. "Why do you care about Atlas? He nearly killed you earlier."

"Yeah, what made you change your mind?" asked Skye, who was just as confused as Zuma was.

Sylvia thought long and hard before giving an answer. "The reason why I have a change of heart is because he put me in my place." She sighed deeply. "My attitude got me hurt. Atlas was just the one to bite me for it."

Skye and Zuma both nodded in approval. They looked down at Rocky and nuzzled him. "Rocky, I know your scared and tired but we need to keep moving," whispered Zuma. Rocky's ears perked at his voice and took a moment to comprehend what he said. Before Skye was going to whisper into his ear, he stood up and shook out his pelt.

"Let's go," said Rocky, with a little more enthusiasm

Sylvia said nothing as she led the way down the trail.

Leaving the group alone was something Atlas needed. He needed time to think and regret what he had made himself back up the trail. But it was foolish to leave them alone. With only one gun, which was in the bag he carried, they were practically defenseless. He smacked his paw on a nearby tree filling his paw with shooting pains before numbing away. Hitting something wasn't going to solve anything, He thought. "But they'll make the regret dull down," he shouted to himself as he punched the tree one more time.

CRACK!

He had just broken his paw. He collapsed to the ground shrieking. "GAAAHHH," howled Atlas. He clutched his broken paw in his other paw. Rolling himself into a ball he shuddered violently. But he knew he wasn't trained to do. He was trained to find a way out of life threatening situation. His bag was on the ground nearby.

Inside contained medical gauze but he didn't have anything to brace the break. Luckily, next to the bag was a stick about two feet long and one to two inches thick. He unzipped the bag and reached inside, searching for the gauze. Feeling its texture on his pawpaw, he clutched it in his paw and pulled it out. There was just enough to wrap it around the sticks and his wrist.

He grabbed the sticks and tried to break them in half but using one arm wasn't working for him. So, he looked around and found a exposed open knot in the tree he had punched. Trying not to hurt himself more, he slowly scooted across the trail with the stick in his teeth. Once was within grabbing distance of the tree, he placed the stick in the knot and grabbed it firmly, but tightly. He pushed on the stick, applying pressure. Feeling the stick crack in his grasp.

SNAP!

The stick broke in half. But Atlas didn't notice one thing when he broke the stick. The scent in the air. He turned to see the rest of the group standing behind him. Their faces shocked at the site of his broken paw. Skye was the first dog to jump to help. She grabbed the sticks and the gauze and immediately went to work. His paw was limp in hers as she placed the sticks on either side of his arm. Making it so he couldn't bend it up and down and cause further damage.

Once she was done and satisfied with her work, she helped Atlas to his paws. He struggled to get up because of the brace but managed. He tested the waters with his paw but instantly regretted it as pains shot up his entire right arm.

Sylvia was instantly at his side. "You need to be careful," she said, letting him lean on her. "Trying to walk on your paw will cause you more pain."

"Why do you care?" He said, looking away from her. "Earlier, I tried to kill you. Now you are giving me advice!"

She stepped away from him, allowing him to fall to the ground. "I care because what you did earlier was my fault. I practically pushed you off a cliff and you snapped." She helped him up. "I'm sorry," she said as she pulled him in for a hug.

"I wanted to apologize as well, but I didn't know when to," he looked into her eyes. "I hope you can forgive me," he pleaded

"I forgive you," she whispered. "It's not your fault."

"Ah, how cute!" said a new voice, snarky and sarcastic.

Everyone turned towards the voice. Low and behold, there was a small group of wolves. They seemed very aggressive and ready to attack at any moment.

"What do you want?" asked Atlas

"We've come to talk about what you have been seeking. Your friend Chase," sneered the wolf.

"What do you know about Chase? Tell me now," demanded Atlas.

"Keep your fur on dog," snapped another wolf. "We have no intention of hurting you or your friends."

"What are you saying," said Zuma, bravely. But you could see the fur on his body shaking.

"We can take you to him."

"Then why haven't you taken us to him?" asked Skye.

The lead wolf smiled. "Because you haven't said please."

Rocky approached the lead wolf. His fear of wolves still at large but locked up temporarily. "Will you please take us to our friend?"

"Of course," he responded to Rocky curtly. "but on there is one small thing we have to agree on first."

"And what is that?" asked Sylvia

"Only two of you get to go with us. The rest of you have to leave."

The group looked at each other. Only to see shrugs and eyes of confusion. They didn't know who was going to go.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but we don't have all day. I suggest you make a decision now or in five seconds we will leave you all behind." The wolf was serious and confident about his words. He knew he wasn't going to not be listened to.

"Fine," said Atlas and Sylvia in sync. They looked at each other and stepped forward. Atlas looked at Rocky, Skye and Zuma. "You three continue on the trail. Well call you when we have located Chase."

"Sorry to bump in but we have a strict no artificial item policy. So you are going to have to leave your bags with your friends." He stared at Atlas. "This includes your gun," he growled.

"I don't know what you are talking about," said Atlas, trying to lie his way out.

The lead wolf made himself nose to nose with Atlas. "You think we are stupid. We know your friend over there…..," he said gesturing to Rocky. "harmed one of ours with a gun. So we know you have one. Plus, we can smell it." The wolves around him nodded in approval.

"Fair enough," said Atlas reluctantly as he took the bag off his shoulder and passed it over to Zuma. "You caught me." He looked at Rocky, Zuma, and Skye once more. "You should get going. We will find a way home."

With a trio of goodbye, but not forever, glances, the trio set off down the trail. They occasionally looked back until they were out of sight.

Sylvia stared at the wolves. "Well, are we just going to sit here or are we going to go to where ever it is you live." Her demand causing a few of the wolves to growl and her. She took up position next to Atlas and slowly began to become more patient. But she remained vigilant, of one of the wolves decided to break rank and attack her.

"There is one more condition, before we set off," spoke the lead wolf. He sat down in front of Atlas and Sylvia, laying his tail across his paws.

"What is that?" asked Atlas,

"You don't get to know where the cave is," he sneered. "Just a precaution in the event you try to find the cave. Trust, you will be unsuccessful." He looked between the two and nodded his head once but slowly.

Atlas and Sylvia had not taken notice of his nod. "Then how are we supposed to ge…., asked Sylvia, as she got hit in the back of the head hard. Knocking her unconscious and sending her limp body to the ground hard with a thud. Atlas witnessed the attack, first hand, as he turned to try and defend himself. But as he turned a wolf jumped on his back and pinned him to the ground. He felt multiple paws on his neck as he tried to struggle free. It was no use. The excessive force on his neck cut off his windpipe. His sight was beginning to dim darker and darker until he let out on final look of the eyes before closing them but he continued to try and escape. After a few more seconds of struggle, Atlas went limp beneath the paws of the wolves. But he was not dead, just rendered unconscious in a more uncomfortable way.

 **Back to the present…..**

Atlas was wrapping up what had happened to them but started to cough violently. The excessive force from the paws on his neck had slightly dented his windpipe. He collapsed to the ground trying to catch his breath. As if he was trying to suck peanut butter through a straw. It was causing him to flail out in fear of death.

Chase was at his side in an instant and got Atlas to hold still. "Atlas, I know you are hurting right now but you need to try and breath." He planted a paw on Atlas's breathing chest. The uneven inhales and exhales were giving him trouble. Applying pressure to his chest, he slowly got Atlas to start breathing in and out with short, even breaths. He looked up at Ajax, "He needs medical attention. He is having trouble breathing and I don't think these are going to stop without attention and treatment."

Ajax nodded in understanding and looked at one the wolves next to him. "Get the Healers and ask them to come and retrieve Chase's friend. They'll know how to fix him up." The wolf nodded and quickly left the cave. He turned his gaze back towards Chase. "We will get him the help he needs don't worry."

"Thank you," he said, leaving Atlas's side but remained close by in case he started to have trouble breathing again.

The Healers had entered the room at this moment with Zoe in the lead followed by the other two. They had asked everyone to leave as the room was too crowded at this point. It caused congestion for the contraption the Healers brought in. It was like a field gurney. More like a cot without legs or supports. It was made from logs and tied together with reeds. They gingerly got Atlas on the makeshift gurney and stabilized him before moving him. It was to avoid any unnecessary movement that could harm Atlas anymore than he already was.

Zoe noticed Chase nearby. "Jax was asking for you earlier. He was sitting up and even tried to walk around. He fell unfortunately. That's predictable, he still has a long road to recovery.

"Thanks Zoe. Tell my son, I will visit him later."

"Sounds great. It should cheer him up. He was kind of depressed after you left the first time." She said nothing as she returned to her Healer companions and lifted Atlas up off the ground. Everyone in the doorway stepped aside, letting the Healers pass.

Before the hole closed up, Everest walked into the room spotting Sylvia almost instantly. She rushed over to her former best friend and hugged her tight. "Sylvia, is it really you?"

"Yes, Everest, it is me," she responded with a giggle. "It is so good to see you after this long." She fell forward and fell into Everest, clutching her head. It had a very large goose bump. "Help me please. It hurts," she cried.

Everest helped the dog up and quickly led her out of the cave towards the Healers den.

Chase was furious. His friends hadn't been her for more than ten minutes and both were already in the Healer's den. "What the hell did your wolves do to my friends?" He snapped at Ajax.

"The same thing we did to get you here Chase. We knocked them out before bringing them here."

"From what I can tell, by the extent of their injuries, that you didn't show mercy when knocking them out. Am I right?" He imbedded his gaze into Ajax's face, causing Ajax to shift uncomfortably. Chase thought about many reasons for their merciless attack and settled on one logical reason: revenge.

"Yes, you are right," he said, caving in from pressure. "We didn't show mercy to the dogs who were involved in your son's accident."

Chase's thoughts were right. They were "So this is payback for my son. Rocky was the one that shot Jax, not Atlas or Sylvia." He bared his teeth in frustration and growled. "You said I should forgive Rocky and I will. But you going behind my back and hurting my friends was completely unethical. You betrayed me."

"I know and I am sorry. It won't happen again." Ajax did seem very sorry for his actions. It almost cost him Chase's compliance to, possibly, join the pack, which isn't what he wanted to happen.

Suddenly Everest burst into the room, yet again. Her face was distraught and filled with fear. "Chase, it's your friend Atlas. He's going into shock. You need to help him." She didn't wait for an answer as she took off with Chase on her heels.

"If he dies, I'm gone. Simple as that," growled Chase, hoping his friend was going to be alright

 **Interesting chapter, I know. I'm loving all the support for this story and I've decided to end it in Chapter 15. I know, due to all my posting of chapter after chapter, that it may end dull. But trust me it won't. I'm going to spend my next couple of days, planning out the rest of the story. This story will end memorably.**

 **Quick Question: What is your favorite chapter so far and why?**

 **Also, I wanna talk about a recent comment left in my reviews. It brought up the topic of this chapter being posted yesterday, Feb 26th. I want to let the person that left the comment that, I do my hardest to stick to deadlines. I really do. You can ask any other fanfic writer and they will probably tell you the same thing. I don't want to hate on you or call you out but you know who you are. I want you to write a story for fanfiction. You would then see the pressure and stress a writer can come under. I dedicate my free time to this site. I want to give you the best quality chapter I can give you. This is one of those chapters, I don't feel as though I dedicated enough time to. That officially stops now. CHAPTERS FROM NOW ON WILL BE POSTED WHEN I GET AROUND TO THEM. NO MORE DEADLINES = NO MORE FRUSTRATION.**

 **SPECIAL THANKS TO THOSE PEOPLE THAT READ THE INTRO'S AND OUTRO'S. THANK'S TO ALL THE VIEWERS. I'LL SEE YOU ALL AGAIN IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. ATLAS OUT**


	12. Chapter 12

**I absolutely love writing stories on this site. It gives me a huge chance to express myself to the world. My mind has been racing with so many good ideas for this story and future stories at that. I actually have two others story ideas that I don't know if I want to share or not. I'll make you all a deal. If this story makes 5,000 views OR 50 reviews, which ever comes first, then I will post a little something at the end of the chapter that meets that quota. No even better, I will just give it it's own page. Sound fair.**

 **I got more questions:**

 **Who is your favorite OC? (PS all of the OC's in this story belong to me).**

 **What should have I added more of?**

 **Who is your favorite PAW Patrol character? (That includes the OC's in the story)**

 **Enough rambling. WELCOME TO THE 74TH ANNUAL HUNGER….. (INSERT DISK SCRATCH). SORRY GOT A LITTLE EXCITED THERE. WELCOME TO CHAPTER 12 OF BRING HER HOME**

 **(PS SOMETHING NEW IN THIS CHAPTER AND THIS CHAPTER ONLY. HOPE YOU LIKE IT)**

The Healers den was about fifty yards away. The Healers had Atlas on the makeshift gurney and were doing their hardest to get him inside the den and into surgery as soon as possible. Their legs were strong and powerful, but when large amounts of weight and running are involved. It can be extremely exhausting. Zoe was the least exhausted of the three. She knew that if she didn't get Atlas to the den in time, he could die.

"Come on," she reassured with a pant. "We are almost there." She turned her head towards Atlas, but kept her pace. His breathing had subsided to short, weak puffs. "Stay with us Atlas. We will get you the care you need." She didn't notice Chase was right next to her, helping with the carrying of the gurney.

"Thought you could use some help," he smiled, but it was short lived when he saw his friends' condition. This caused a low growl to engage in his throat. As though he could snap at any moment. He was frustrated with the mistreatment of his friends capture. "Atlas, I hope you are listening," he whispered into Atlas's ear. "These wolves are going to make you better again. I promise."

"We are almost there," shouted one of the healers.

Zoe began to bark orders and maintained her current heading. "Okay, once we are inside we need to do the following: Stabilize Atlas, gather all essential herbs and cobwebs and then begin working on him. Understand?"

"Yes, Zoe," said both the other Healers.

"Here's the den," she said. "Sampson, go get the herbs and cobwebs. Drake, Chase and I will get Atlas stabilized. Go now."

"On it," responded Sampson. He left the gurney and darted into a separate cave inside the den. Grabbing as many essential ingredients as possible.

"Let's use that flat rock for the procedure," exclaimed Drake, gesturing toward a large, flat rock over in the corner.

"Works for me, as long as my friend gets fixed," grunted Chase, clearly still frustrated. He noticed Everest and Sylvia on the other side of the cave. He knew why they were here. Sylvia had started to get massive pains in her head region.

Zoe noticed them too. "Is everything alright, Everest?" asked Zoe, worryingly.

Everest jumped slightly at the sudden presence of others. "No, she has massive headaches and pains in her head," she said, pointing to Sylvia. Who lay on a flat rock clutching her head and whimpering loudly.

"Please make it stop!" she cried. "I'll do anything."

Zoe looked at Drake. "Go get some herbs for her, quickly." She took one hard look at Sylvia. "Especially lavender petals for her pains and also get poppy seed so she can sleep."

"But what about stabilizing Atlas," he argued

"We will handle it, she countered, with clenched teeth. "I have Chase to help me," she said, pointing her eyes at Chase. "And one more thing. Make sure Sampson gets broom petals and of course lavender."

Without another word, Drake, too, left the gurney and ducked into the same cave Sampson had gone into.

Once they had reached the operating rock, they each took up separate ends of the gurney. They had to get the gurney on the rock.

"One three, ready?" asked Zoe

Chase nodded and tightened his grip on the gurney.

"One…..two…..three," she said with a mighty heave and the gurney was on the rock, just like that. She then moved around the gurney and was met by Chase. "We need to get the gurney out from under him," she explained. "It will be tougher to operate on him if it isn't moved." Pointing at Chase and then tilting her head at Atlas. "Can you lift him up high enough to allow the gurney to come out freely?"

"Yes, I can," responded Chase, with a whimper. "But couldn't me lifting him up hurt him more?" he asked warily. He didn't want to do it if that was the case. His friend was already too hurt as it was.

"Only if you rush picking him up," she reassured, seeing the worry in the shepherds eyes. "Any sudden or rough movements can hurt him. So you have to pick him up slowly," she said grabbing his paw. "Here, pretend like your holding a baby. Put one paw under his upper back and the other right below the center of his back," she directed, observing where he put his paws. "Be wary of his head though, snappy movements can hurt his neck."

Thinking he had it right, he looked her in the eyes. "Like that," he said, hoping she gave the answer he wanted to here.

"Yep, now slowly lift him up with your left paw," she ordered.

Chase slowly began to flex his arm and lift the black shepherd up. He was kind of heavy but what was Chase expecting to lift. He was as careful as though he was moving a live landmine. He didn't want to rush or drop him because he could get hurt. But the moans and loud cries from Sylvia weren't helping. Drake was back though and had a paw full of herbs. He placed them next to Sylvia and began to mix together the herbs into a bundle. Once he was satisfied, he looked at Sylvia. "Take these herbs. They should stop the pain and make you sleep." He looked at Everest. "Once she has taken them, we need to move her to recovery, okay."

Sylvia took the herbs in her mouth and almost coughed them up. "You never said they would taste bitter," she complained, struggling to swallow the herbs. She horked them down and rested her head on the rock. Everest and Drake lifted her off the rock gingerly and took her into recovery.

"Hey!" snapped Zoe. "Focus. Lift your right arm now and hold him there."

He did exactly as she said and flexed his right arm, which in turn, lifted Atlas into the air. Zoe had pulled the gurney out form under Atlas and placed it up against the wall.

"You can put him down now." She said. "Remember, slowly."

Chase only nodded and slowly began to relax his muscles. Which, like hydraulics, if you relieve the pressure they drop slowly. Chase's arms worked like that. He let out as much pressure as he could, but kept some contained to make sure his friend didn't fall hard. Once Atlas was on the rock, they quickly stabilized his body, to make sure he didn't move during the procedure.

As soon as they finished with the stabilization, Sampson reappeared with a large beech leaf in his mouth. It contained all the herbs and leaves they would need to help save Atlas's life.

Chase didn't even recognize any of the herbs besides the strong lavender smell. "What are all these?"

Zoe meanwhile sorted out the herbs. "The yellow petals are called broom and they are used to heal broken bones. The lavender is for his throat. And the seeds are to help if he goes into shock." She returned to sorting.

"What about his breathing, it's been coming out in little puffs. Do you have something for that?" asked Chase

"Yes," she said reaching over to grab a leaf. She held it up for him to see. "This is coltsfoot. We can chew up the leaves into a poultice and give it to him. It will help him breathe better."

"I'm sorry to interrupt but he doesn't need to be here," explained Sampson. He looked at Chase. "I don't mean to be rude but you clearly have no medical experience." He lay his eyes on Zoe. "You know as much as I do, that he doesn't need to be here. He will only get in the way."

"I'm sorry but there is no way in hell I am going to leave my friend," he argued, getting himself face to face with Sampson.

Zoe got between the two and shoved them apart. "Enough," she snapped. "Both of you. There will be no fighting in this den." She looked at Chase. "I understand your frustration and concern for your friend."

"Thank you I…," said Chase, but was cut off short. Zoe had placed a paw on his mouth, sealing his lips.

"But Sampson brings up a good point. You have no medical experience and you will only get in the way." She sighed. "I'm sorry but you are either going to have to go visit your son or leave altogether."

Chase bit his lip in frustration and retreated to the recovery room. If they weren't going to let him help, he was going to se his son. Besides, Jax wanted to see him anyway. When he entered the cave, he saw Drake finishing up with Sylvia. He grabbed his shoulder as he was about to pass.

"Will she be alright?" he asked with a worried glance over Drake's shoulder. He let go of Drake's shoulder as he didn't want to force an answer out of him

Drake gave Chase a reassuring glance. "She will be okay. All she needs right now is time and rest."

Chase sighed in relief. "Oh thank god. I was thinking much worse thoughts. Thank you." He turned his head and saw the other Healers prepping Atlas for his procedure. "You should probably get going. You know, see if they need help," he smirked.

Drake nodded. "Of course," he exclaimed, as he darted past Chase.

Chase looked back at the Healers one last time before he went to go see his son.

Jax was in his recovery nest resting. His ears perked at the sounds of footsteps and he looked up to see his father standing over him. He quickly got to his feet and hugged Chase. "It's good to see you again," he cried, shedding a tear onto Chase's shoulder.

"And it is good to see you as well, son," said Chase, trying to contain his pride. But he, yet again, set his pride aside and let a tear leak from his eyes as well.

Jax noticed this and let go from the hug. "You know, for a dog like you. It is really interesting to see you cry," he said curiously. He snapped his jaws shut when he realized what he said was kind of rude. "Sorry, that didn't come out right," he said, trying to make a joke out of it.

"Oh you don't have to worry," pardoned Chase, shaking his head like it was no big deal. "Plus, I am not just crying about you. It is about my friend getting worked on right now," said Chase, with a worried sigh. "I'm afraid that he….might not make it," whimpered Chase.

"What's your friends name?" asked Jax

"Atlas," responded Chase. "He is a German shepherd just like me," explained Chase.

"That's a cool name, I have never heard it before," said Jax

"Funny you should say that," laughed Chase. "He claims that he is the only dog named that."

"I don't believe that for a second," snorted Jax in disbelief

"Don't let him catch you saying that," he giggled. He leaned into Jax and whispered in his ear. "Trust me, you'd be wise not to. I have learned that the hard way," he said with a shudder.

"How is that so?" asked Jax, his tail wagging like no tomorrow.

"I would prefer not to talk about it. It makes me uncomfortable."

"Fair enough," said Jax, not delving deeper into the story.

"Hey, let me let you in on a little secret," whispered Chase. He gestured for Jax to come closer.

"What is it," he whispered, as quiet as a mouse.

"Remember when you brought up how much you liked Zoe?" he asked, still trying to remain as quiet as possible.

"Yeah, what about her?" asked Jax, with a worried and frightened look.

"She told me a little something after you fell asleep, when I was here last time."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Spit it out," ordered Jax, not wanting to play anymore games. But he was still excited, not angry.

"She told me that she likes you and….," he pressed on. "thinks that you are cute."

Jax said nothing as he projected a look of joy all over his body. His overall body language was happy. His tail wagged ferociously and his legs couldn't support him. He fell into his nest awkwardly but he didn't seem to mind. The happiness he was feeling wanted to make him scream in joy. But he knew better and chose not to.

Chase giggled at his son's reaction. It was like watching a puppy on Christmas morning. It meant a lot to tell his son that news. Happiness was the universal cure to everything and Chase knew by the sheer size of Jax's reaction. He could have filled the world with happiness twice. "Okay, there lover boy. It is time to relax. Wiggling like that won't heal your chest," he said putting a paw on Jax, instantly calming him down.

Jax froze and looked up at Chase, with a naughty look on his face. "Man, I hope mom didn't mate with you just because you are a serious buzzkill," he joked, knowing that would cause Chase to react. But part of him knew that saying that was out of line. Causing his face to go bright red.

"Oh, you my friend are dead when you are all better," he stated, trying to stay serious. It failed miserably when he snorted like a pig and broke down laughing.

Jax was laughing as well, his whole face red still. "When it comes to threatening people, you are the dullest of them all," he joked.

"Man, even though you are hurt, you have a very funny sense of humor."

Jax took in a deep breath, trying to relax. Excessive laughing could prolong the healing process. He sat up in his nest and stared at Chase. "I guess you could say that I was born with it." He figured he got it from Chase.

Chase knew that he wasn't the funny one between him and, his mate, Everest. Between the two, Chase was the serious type and Everest was the laidback, funny type. "Let me just tell you that you didn't get it from me," explained Chase.

"I find that hard to believe," argued Jax. "Since I was born, mom hasn't made any jokes." He looked into his fathers eyes. "I guess losing you, made her change perspectives on things. It changed from, what you thought was, funny and laidback to serious and bossy."

"I can see why," said Chase. "She had to adapt to her knew surroundings and when she knew she was becoming a mother," he said placing his paws on Jax's shoulders. "That definitely would have changed her."

"Yeah, I guess," Jax yawned, his mouth gaping open enough to reveal his razor sharp canines. "You should probably get going. I need to rest," he explained, letting out another yawn. "I'm glad that you are here," he said before he laid his head down. He curled up into the tightest ball he could get comfortable in. After about thirty seconds of getting comfortable, Jax closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. His snores making the room seem cozy.

Chase looked down at his now sleeping son. "I'm sorry, I wasn't there to raise you," he said, before being bumped from behind. He turned his head and saw the love of his life standing there smiling at him. "How much of that did you here?" he asked nervously

"I heard enough," she responded. She sat down next to him and leaned on his shoulder. The couple looked down at their sleeping child. "He loves you; you know that right?" she asked

"I do," replied Chase, as he nuzzled his mates ears causing her to moan slightly. "I'm glad he set aside his hate for me," he explained. "It makes me feel happy."

"I wish that you were with me when he and his sister were born. It was in of the greatest moments of my life." She sighed. "Even though I couldn't share it with anyone I loved." She wiped a tear frim her eye

"If only I knew you were still alive, than I would have made sure I was here." He planted a kiss on her lips.

 **(Warning: Possible mating scene detected! VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED)(IF YOU DONT HAVE THE STOMACH TO READ A DETAILED SEX SCENE, PLEASE DON'T READ)(STORY DOES FINISH WITH A T RATING, SO DON'T LEAVE JUST YET)**

He held it there as long as he could. Relishing the love he had to make up for. Three years of love to be exact. Her moans became louder and louder causing Chase to want to pleasure her more. He grabbed her and pushed her into an empty cave, that branched off the recovery room. on the other. He laid across her chest and continued to kiss her deeply.

Chase knew that if he didn't make her scream that he would probably be okay. He felt himself become hard from all the kissing and tried to hide it, to maximize pleasure.

Too Late!

Everest already spotted his growing erection and took the shaft in her paw and slowly began to slide her paw up and down. The male extremity becoming bigger and longer with every stroke.

Chase began to kiss her neck, making her moan loudly.

"Chase, I have missed you so much," she moaned, still holding his dick in her paw.

"As have I," he gasped, as she shoved him up and then throw him on his back, revealing Chase's rock hard penis. "Shall we take it to another level," he suggested

"We shall," giggled Everest as she took the shaft into her mouth. Beginning slowly to give back all the love that they had missed out on.

Chase's began to moan and whimper loudly. It was his first time having sex in three years. He knew that if Everest was his soul mate then he was going to share his love with her and her only. "Everest," he moaned. "Oh, how I have missed this this!"

Everest began to take in all of Chase at once, including his bulging knot.

Chase let out a little yip as his moans turned to absolute pleasure. "As you can see ladies and gentlemen, the specimen has suddenly had a strong desire for meat," he added with a giggle, as he came in her mouth. "Hope she likes cream," he announced, but not loud enough to attract attention.

Everest swallowed all of Chase's love and stopped sucking his dick. "This specimen is a cream loving carnivore," she added, with a desire for more. She grabbed Chase yet again and lifted him out of the nest. She got on her paws and knees and lowered her front end to the ground. Leaving the rear exposed for a certain someone. "Make our family whole again, my sexy Chase."

"As you wish, my beautiful Everest," he said as he slowly got on top of her. He lined himself up with her vagina before looking at her. "Are you sure this is what you want?" Only to be responded with a strong nod.

He slowly inched his way forward, taking it one step at a time. Once he was fully inside her, he slowly began to rock her butt. It was the most amazing feeling he had ever experienced. Even more pleasurable than his first time with her, all those years ago. "Oh my god, Everest!" He exclaimed. "When did you become a tight virgin again?" That is what her body felt like to him. Brand new like it was still wrapped in it's packaging.

"Since I had kids. You're the first person I have had sex with since the kids were born" she moaned, trying to get as much pleasure as possible. "When did you become so big?" she gasped. His sheer size was almost abnormal. Little known fact, Chase was twelve inches. Bigger than any other male paw patrol member.

"I was born that way, I guess," he joked, as he began to pound faster and faster. Like a cheetah chasing a gazelle across the savannah. "Oh this feels so good," said Chase. Chase was closing in on his second climax. "Everest," he moaned. "I'm getting close." But he didn't slow down.

"Finish inside me, make us a mated pair once more," she said, as Chase shoved his knot deep into her. Expelling his juices like a firehose. He collapsed on top of her and together the fell on their sides.

"Thank you, Everest," he said tiringly. "I think I need…to….rest," he said as he passed out, still connected to Everest.

"Thank you, Chase," she yawned, not minding the extremity still buried inside her. She lay down her head and let nature take its course. And soon both dogs were asleep.

 **(WASN'T THINKING I WAS GOING TO DO IT HUH)(HOPE IT WASN'T BAD)(THERE WILL BE NO MORE OF THOSE IN MY STORIES)(THIS WAS JUST AN EXPERIMENT)(ANYWAY BACK TO THE LAND OF RATED "T")**

About two hours later, Chase awoke by himself. His body still trembled from the session that took place only a few hours ago. He stood up in the nest and stepped lightly. His eyes slowly blacked out as blood rushed to his brain making him wobble. He regained his balance and began to stretch, his back and shoulders were tense. The popping and occasional cracking relieved the tension in his muscles.

After the stretches, he went into the recovery room. He noticed Jax and Sylvia were still resting. He stepped lightly, so he didn't wake either one up. They needed their rest, he thought. Once he got into the main part of the Healer's den, he noticed that Atlas was laying on the rock still. But there was only Zoe, next to him. He slowly began to panic but stopped when he saw the rise and fall of his friends chest.

Zoe noticed him. "Oh hey Chase, how long have you been standing there?"

"Only a few seconds," he said, approaching his friend. "How is he?"

Zoe sighed. "We have done all we can for him. We ran out of broom leaves and they only bloom every few weeks. So we weren't able to heal all his broken bones."

"I thought he only broke his paw?" questioned Chase

Zoe shook her head in disbelief. "He has four broken ribs and major bruising in his chest. Whatever happened to him, it was caused by something strong enough to break his ribs but not kill him," she explained. "Did you notice if he was in pain or distress when you came to Adventure Bay?"

"No, he seemed fine," he answered. "We have only been in Adventure Bay a few days"

"Well, all I can say is this," she said, looking Chase in the eyes. "If he doesn't get real medical attention soon. He will surely die."

Chase didn't want to believe that. "No…No, there has to be something you can do?" he argued. "You are a Healer, fix him."

"Chase, I'm sorry. And I already told you that we have done everything we could. You have to prepare for the worst." She said nothing as she disappeared from the den.

Chas could do nothing but cry at the base of the rock Atlas was laying on. "Atlas, why did I ever bring you along?" He looked at his friend. His body fragile, as though death could swipe him at any moment. "I promise you that I will get you the help you need."

"I think I can help with that," said a new voice.

Chase looked up and was shocked at who was standing there. He couldn't believe his eyes. With their help, Atlas would have a fighting chance. But Chase still couldn't believe his eyes and called out one name that he knew all to familiarly.

"Marshall?"

 **I think I did better on this chapter than I did on the last one. It has superior detail, good dialogue and increased suspense. Wouldn't you agree? I want to ask you only one question, about a certain part in this chapter. Yep, you guessed it, the mating scene. Tell me what you thought of it. Was it cliché or was it fresh? If you don't feel comfortable with a review then send me a PM. Don't worry, I will keep the messages to myself.**

 **Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying the story so far. I'm still thinking on how the rest of the story will go. Thanks again and I will see in the next chapter. Atlas out**


	13. Chapter 13

**Have you ever ran for student body office? Let me tell you, it's a difficult process at my school, of which shall not be mentioned. You got to go to this meeting, build a portfolio, have an interview. It's just a difficult process. That is why I haven't posted all week because I have been stressing about that all week. But, that stress is over and done with, now I just have to wait for results. You probably thinking, "Then why aren't you still stressing, don't you want to win?" I do want to win but I am still okay with not obtaining my goal.**

 **Anyway, I still am in the dark about future stories. Maybe this chapter is the one that reaches one of the requirements. I'm loving the support that you guys have been giving me especially, MarshallB. Every time you leave a comment, it melts my heart. They are thoughtful and kind. You are a very cool person and you have my thanks because of it. IF YOU WANT A SHOUTOUT, LEAVE A EXTRA NICE LONG MAKES ME HAPPY! Let's get right into it shall we.**

 **WELCOME TO CHAPTER 13 OF BRING HER HOME**

Chase was shocked by Marshalls presence in the room. It made him ponder how Marshall got to the cave, let alone found it. Did he get captured? Chase thought. He walked up to the dally skeptically, as if he was seeing a ghost. His paw raised off the ground and pressed against the Dalmatian's short fur. It was Marshall and he was actually in the room. Chase looked into Marshall's striking blue eyes. They shinned and glowed even when there was little light. He had a hiking bag on his back. And he had his medical bag, but what for.

"Marshall?" Chase questioned, part of him still on the side of insanity. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, Chase," Marshall responded. "It's me."

Chase tried to push out words and only gave a chuckle. He smiled. "How did you get here?" He then frowned, not at Marshall, but at his thoughts. "Did they hurt you?"

"What are you talking about?" spoke Marshall, confused by Chase's unusual behavior. "I was brought here by a wolf." His words spoke only the truth and Chase knew it. "I didn't even have a claw laid on me at all."

"But, how?" Chase asked again. "Everyone else that was brought here was rendered unconscious, to keep the location of this place a secret," he explained. "What makes you any different?"

"I told them I had medical experience, when they mentioned a hurt dog," he explained. "They chose to just cover my eyes and guide me here. Probably so I could help them."

Chase nodded. "But what made you decide to come up here?" He pressed Marshall, as if he was squeezing the life force out of something.

"Well, when Skye, Zuma and Rocky returned to the lookout, they explained what happened." He gulped and licked his lips. "I got extremely worried about Atlas and Sylvia that I chose to come up to the park and help in the search."

"Did anyone know you were coming?" Chase was worried of Marshalls potential response

Marshall sighed. "There is no point in lying," he sighed once more and took a deep breath. "No, no one knew I came up here." He looked down in shame. "I figured Ryder would make us wait until Atlas and Sylvia came back but…..," he paused, unsure if to continue speaking

"But what Marshall?" Chase asked, with a whisper

"My Paw Patrol instincts kicked in and I knew that I had to help, no mater what the cost." He looked up at Chase, his eyes red in sadness and regret. "Please don't be mad, Chase?" He was worried Chase would be furious.

Chase knew that Marshall's reasoning was sound. He couldn't be mad for him wanting to help, it was in his blood. Instead of scolding his best friend, he pulled him into a hug. "Marshall, you don't have to worry. I couldn't be angry at a best friend, trust me, I have tried. It doesn't work." He let go of the dally and stepped back. "So you got to the trail, then what?" asked Chase, wanting to know how Marshall got to the cave.

"So I decided to go up the trail the opposite way," he explained, with a sniff. "Because Rocky's drone was located near the end of the trail, not the beginning."

"Then what?"

"I found where the drone was last and tried my best to sniff out any sort of scent rail," He chuckled, feeling better. "But my sniffer is old, like old man old."

"I don't doubt that, fires can ruin some senses especially smell," responded Chase, understandingly.

"My smell sucked before I became a Fire Marshall, hell, even before joining the Paw Patrol," he laughed. Marshall was getting hyperactive, as his breed did have the tendency to occasionally do that.

Chase placed both of his paws, calming the dally. "Calm down there, sir!"

"Okay, let me just start from the beginning," responded Marshall. "So I was just getting to the trail…"

 **Flashback…**

It was a tough and dangerous call Marshall had to make. He couldn't leave his friends up on the trail any longer. But there was a problem; he had gone up to the trail without telling anyone. It was a stupid decision and Marshall knew that. In fact, he almost turned back when he realized that he could be hurt or even worse, killed. But he grew up a member of the Paw Patrol, so his helpful instincts had taken control of his body. He was just along for the ride.

It had taken him about an hour to get to the parking lot, near the trail head. When he arrived, he quickly popped the trunk of his rental car and grabbed his hiking bag. It contained things he would possibly need in the event of an emergency. He also had his medic bag.

He was just about to head up the Diamondback trail. He had his pack on him as well as his medic box. This box was genius. It was about the size of a rubix cube. On it, was a button which deployed a full size emergency room, complete with all the tools a doctor could ever need. It was Marshall's prized possession and always brought it with him. How Marshall came to create such technology was interesting.

When the team disbanded, Marshall slowly began to create his All Dog Fire Department. But to do that, he had to create modified gear and vehicles for a dog to use. Full size human equipment wouldn't suffice for Marshall. It would have caused to many complications with him and his future team. So, since he had medical skills, he decided to create the medical box; he still hadn't thought of a cool name for it.

The box was also dangerous which was extremely ironic as it was used to help people. If the button was pushed while it was in the bag, it could crush Marshall under it killing him instantly. But Marshall had looked into that when designing it. He had made a modification to the button; it now had a safety pin stuck through it so it couldn't go off prematurely.

Marshall was planning on heading up the trail backwards. He had taken a mental picture of the map Rocky's drone had made. He noticed that the drone was near the end of the trail and decided to head the opposite way. His legs began to carry him to the trail exit and started up the trail. He wanted to find his companions before nightfall. The trail was a dangerous place when night took over.

After about an hour of hiking, he found the spot where Rocky's drone was last. Even though Rocky had brought the drone back, he remember where it was last. He did some slight investigating around the area and quickly found Chase's hiking bag. It had dirt and leaves covering it. But it was still intact. Marshall quickly pulled off his own bag and stuffed Chase's inside. He wanted to make sure Chase could get it back. He began to start sniffing the surrounding area.

Marshall knew that his sense of smell wasn't very good. The fires that he and his fire crew fought had destroyed most of his smelling sense. But it didn't stop him from at least trying; it never hurts to try. After a moment of trying to catch even the slightest scent, he gave up and growled.

"Blast, I wish I could smell like I used to," he rumbled. He drooped his head in shame and frustration.

CRACK!

Marshall looked up instantaneously, trying to pinpoint where the sound came from. But he didn't look behind him as he was knocked to the ground and pinned. He tried to scream for help but his snout was slammed shut.

Two wolves had jumped him. One was on Marshall's back and the other holding his head down and his mouth shut. One wolf looked at the other. "What do we have here?" snarled the wolf toward his companion. "It seems that we have another hiker. And they just so happen to be a dog."

"What do you think we should do with him?" sneered the other wolf. "He doesn't look like he would be much of a meal."

"I honestly don't know," responded the other wolf. He looked down into Marshall's eyes. "What do you think we should do to you, hmmm?"

Marshall tried to speak but only gave a mumble

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" he said, pushing on Marshall's head much harder

"ENOUGH!" shouted a new voice. "What in the hell do you two think you are doing?" The new voice was female and furious.

The two wolves quickly got off of Marshall, who stayed on the ground. They sat next to each other and looked down at the ground. "We found this dog walking on the trail and we didn't know what to do, so we attacked him."

The other wolf stepped forward. "We also thought that he was part of the group responsible for…," he paused from exposing a name. "The injury of our pack member," he stated, which got a nod of approval from his friend.

"You attacked him for that reason?" She spat, looking down at Marshall and letting her fur settle. "Are you okay?" she asked, helping him to his paws. She gave him a quick sniff and she couldn't smell blood. But her colleagues had attacked him over a stupid reason.

Marshall quickly backed away from the wolves. He was scared to death, they had almost decided to kill him. What would his friends have done knowing that he was killed, especially after leaving the lookout without notice. "Y-Yeah, I'll be okay," he stuttered, his body trembling in fear. He looked at the female wolf dead in the eyes. She had dark grey fur and sported dazzling blue eyes. By the sound of her voice, she was young and lively. "Why did you attack me?"

"One of our pack members was shot recently and these two….," she said, pointing her snout at the two wolves. "thought that you were apart of the group that shot him."

"I wasn't though and is the wolf alright," he asked, hoping that he could lend his medical experience. "I could help you," he said, stepping forward only to be stopped by the female.

"We have it under control," she growled. "We don't need your help."

Her voice was stern but Marshall sensed another feeling in her voice: fear. "Judging by the tone of your voice, you need my help," he exclaimed, trying to prove a point. "And that group you brought up, consisted of my friends. Two of which are unaccounted for," he was in the beginnings of a low snarl. "And I'm guessing that you have them, so I suggest that you let me lend you my medical experience." He sat back and calmed down because he knew he had made his point. "And when I'm done helping, I will take my friends back home with me," he added, just to make sure they gave in to his demands.

"Okay, fine," she said. "I'll take you with us back to our home but there is one problem," she said, her voice filled with concern. "And it has to do with one of your friends."

"What about my friend?" demanded Marshall

"Your friend is gravely injured from his capture and our Healers are fearing that he may die," she whispered.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" he questioned. "Lets go!"

"Now wait just one second!" she snapped. "Before you can enter our home, there is one condition." She didn't wait for his answer. "You either have to be blindfolded or we knock you unconscious. It's your choice."

Marshall knew that if he was unconscious then he wouldn't be one hundred percent when he operated. It was his one of his rules when operating; even though, he had like a hundred of rules. "I'd prefer to be blindfolded please!" chose Marshall, his voice stern and true of his decision. He reached into his bag pulling out a black bandana and held it up for the female to see. "Will this work?" He asked.

She grabbed the bandana and held it up to her face. It was to make sure that the bandana wasn't transparent whatsoever. The bandana was made of tightly woven threads; no light could pass through it. She nodded approval. "It will suffice," she said, giving the bandana back to Marshall. "Now put it on tight," she ordered

Marshall began to wrap the bandana around his forehead. He tied a knot and began to pull the cloth over his eyes but stopped before he fully covered his eyes. "I didn't catch your name."

"Holly," she responded. "My name is Holly" She grabbed the cloth and pulled it over Marshall's eyes, blinding his sight. "Okay, let's go," she ordered as she took up position beside Marshall, so she could guide him and the group set off to the wolves home.

 **Back to the present…..**

"And then they brought me here," said Marshall

"They gave you the option of being blindfolded," Chase growled. "They didn't give Atlas a choice and he is fighting for his life." Chase was furious. What entitled Marshall to special treatment?

"They didn't give him an option," croaked Marshall. He felt awful knowing that he was given a choice and not Atlas. Even though he didn't know Atlas very well, he knew that it was Chase's best friend. So it hurt to see a friend of his friend fight for his life. "Where is he?" he asked, his voice filled with determination. "I'd like to start working on him," he stated

"Not to be rude or anything but what are planning to do with that little medic bag," brought up Chase. "He has four broken ribs and I don't even know how that happened!" he exclaimed.

Marshall said nothing as he reached into his bag and pulled out the box. He held it up for Chase to see. "This box is all I need," he said.

Chase reached out and grabbed the box from Marshall. It was the size of a rubix cube and was the color of slate. On it was a button, which was very tempting for Chase to push. Chase didn't know why but he had a urge to just push buttons. "What does this button do?" he asked, pointing at the button while resisting the urge to push it. He handed it back to Marshall.

"I'll show you," he said, going past Chase but stopped almost instantly. "You know this place better than I do. Is there a large open space in one of these caves?"

"Yes there is," said Chase, pointing at the recovery cave. "That cave over there has a large open space if we move some things around."

"Are you sure about moving stuff around, would the wolves here let you?" Marshall asked, unsure about un-organizing the cave.

"If I ask," responded Chase, spotting Zoe coming out of the recovery cave. "Hey Zoe, can you come here for a second?"

The white wolf quickly rushed over to Chase and Marshall. "What can I do for you, Chase?" She asked

Chase looked at Marshall and tilted his head towards Zoe. "Explain to her, what you need?" He said. "Don't worry she won't bite…..hard," he added with a chuckle.

Marshall looked at Zoe. Her bright green eyes seemed to slowly kill him form the inside. He gulped, as she was very intimidating. Even though she was like half of his size. "I was wondering if I-I could set up shop in y-your recovery room," he stuttered.

"For what reason?" she asked

Marshall held up his paw, which held the box. "This box can do wonders and it needs the space to be able to deploy," he explained. He looked into Zoe's eyes and pleaded with an attempted puppy dog face. But since he wasn't exactly a puppy anymore, he couldn't pull it off. An actual plea would have to suffice. "So I am imploring you to let me help. It may be the only thing that can keep Atlas alive."

Zoe looked at Chase and her expression said it all. She didn't want to have an innocent life lost because she refused help. Looking at Marshall she said, "Very well, let me help you set up." She led the way into the recovery cave. "Since there is only two recovering in here we can move a lot of the nests around," she explained

"Then let's do it," said Chase, beginning to push a nest towards one side of the cave. "They are all around the same size, we can stack them up like LEGO's."

Zoe was confused. "I don't know what LEGO's are but I like your thinking," she said with a giggle.

They soon had all the nests cozied up on one side of the cave, leaving a more than capable workplace for Marshall's box. Jax and Sylvia both had their heads poking out of their nests, observing what was going on. Marshall dumped his bag by Chase and took the box out to the center on the open space. He looked back at the others. "Okay, I need you all to stay where you are. This thing is super sensitive and can hurt you if your not careful."

Chase and Zoe both nodded. "Ready when you are, buddy," said Chase, his tail wagging with interest.

Marshall nodded and pulled the safety pin out of the button and slowly placed the box on the ground. Once he was satisfied with the placement of the box, he reached for the button. But stopped just inches from it and looked back. The intrigued and worried faces had him pondering whether or not this was a good idea. But curiosity got the best of him and he slammed his paw down on the button. He quickly rushed back towards his friends and watched the magic happen.

As soon as Marshall hit the button, the box lit up with a white light. It started to give off a low humming sound and it began to deploy. First, it began to build a floor about the size of a trampoline. Next, it began to build up equipment that Marshall would have to use on Atlas. Finally, it shot a line form one side of the cave to the other and the line lit up like a Christmas tree. It filled up the room with a very bright light, causing everyone to shut their eyes tightly.

Once their eyes were adjusted, they quickly went and got Atlas. They gingerly placed him on the operating table located in the center of the, now deployed, operating room.

Zoe's eyes were filled with amazement. "Marshall, that was incredible. Where did you get that?" She asked, eyes full of content

"Developed the technology myself with my own two paws," He said, holding up his paws. "Pretty cool, huh!" he exclaimed

"I'll say!" exclaimed Chase. "Whoever thought that the clumsy one would develop something like this," added Chase, with a laugh but stopped when he saw Marshall's face. "But you know that people and dogs can learn new things," said Chase, hoping it forgave him for what he said.

Marshall laughed at him. "Ahhh, eat your heart out," he said, through shut teeth. "I guess some of Rocky's tinkering skill's rubbed off onto me."

"Okay, Tinkerbell, What do you need us to do?" asked Chase, looking at Zoe and then back at Marshall.

"I just need Zoe on this one, buddy," stated Marshall. "I don't want you to be apart of this operation because I feel you will get to attached," he explained.

Chase opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. He knew Marshall was right and there was no way he could change his mind. If Chase was helping, he could easily screw up with a simple mistake. That mistake could easily cost Atlas his life and Chase didn't want to live with that. If he was the one responsible for Atlas's death, he would probably lose control. He looked at Marshall and only dipped his head as he exited the cave, his head and tail drooping.

Once he was sure Chase was hanging around, he looked at Zoe. "So what can you tell me about Atlas, so far?"

"He has a broken paw," she said, pointing at his right paw. She moved to his throat. "Slightly crushed windpipe and four broken ribs."

Marshall nodded and the doctor in his brain went to work, finding multiple solutions to help "fix" Atlas. "Okay, the first thing we need to do is get a cast on his right paw," he ordered. "Even though the handy work on that splint is very well done," he said with an impressed voice.

"Thank you, it was one of things that I did on him before you got here," thanked Zoe, starting to slowly untie the splint from Atlas's paw. After she got it off, Marshall had already got a cast ready to replace the splint. "Let me dispose of these real quickly," she said, disappearing momentarily.

Once she was back, Marshall had gotten out a syringe of a clear fluid. "What is that?" she asked

"It's a sedative which will fully knock him out so we can work on him," he explained, tapping the syringe to get any air bubbles out. He pressed on the syringe plunger, letting fluids squirt out.

"Why are you wasting it?" she asked confusingly.

"Air bubbles might seem harmless but they can be very dangerous in the bloodstream," said Marshall. "If a lot of bubbles get into his veins and arteries, it can cause a clot. Which could kill him if not treated." He stopped messing with the syringe and pressed it into Atlas's neck. "So I'm taking the extra steps to make sure that doesn't happen. Can you open that draw right there and get it's contents while I hook our friend here up to the machine?" he said, pointing to a draw across from him.

"Of course," she responded, walking over to the drawer. She opened it and found a metal tan attached to a mask. Zoe grabbed the two objects and brought them over to Marshall. She noticed the machine he was hooking Atlas up to. "Here you are," she said, placing the objects on the end of the gurney. "What is that you are doing there?" she asked, looking at the machine.

"Oh this," he said. "It will tell me what his blood pressure, heart rate and other things. I won't go into detail but it basically helps me know how he is doing." Marshall turned the machine on and it began to show Atlas's rates and pressures. He was stable but that could easily change.

Marshall opened up a variety of drawers, each containing tools he would need to operate. He knew he had to cut Atlas's neck and chest open if he wanted to save his life. The first thing he grabbed was a face mask to keep him from coughing on Atlas. Next was hand sanitizer so he didn't contaminate Atlas's soon to be exposed chest. And finally he grabbed gloves to keep his paws clean. After he got himself situated, he gave Zoe a set of surgery gear as well, which she put on quickly. Marshall placed the oxygen mask over Atlas's face and turned on the oxygen. He noticed the fogging and defogging of the mask, which indicated that Atlas was breathing. Once he was positive, he didn't miss anything he looked at Zoe.

"You ready?" he asked questioningly

"Lets begin," said Zoe, itching to get started

"Very well," responded Marshall, grabbing a small knife and began to slowly cut open Atlas.

 **I think I might have to change my minimum to at least 4,000 words. Because since I stated that I was going to at least 3,000, I have done all the following chapters over 4,000 words. What do you think so far?**

 **Is it dragging or is it building it up smoothly?**

 **Did you like the fact that I brought in Marshall?**

 **Does someone need to die? (Yes or No question)**

 **Those are my questions for you in this chapter. I will continue to do that because you guys actually take the time to answer them, which is awesome. Keep up the nice reviews and I'll continue to give you quality chapters. Anyway, I'll see you guys and gals next time. Atlas Out**


	14. Chapter 14

**Its one thing to have someone follow/favorite your story. Or follow/favorite you. But when a well known writer in the PAW Patrol fanfiction favorites your story, follows it, favorites you and follows you, you know you've made an impression. So I went into his bio and looked at his favorite authors. I am one of eleven other authors: Pedz, KNDFreak and HavocHound are there. That makes me so happy that I'm getting noticed on this site. I mean not that I am but that I'm getting more noticed. I've really established myself as a good author, even though my story count is at one. Thank you all for getting me this far, it means a lot. MarshallB, thanks for telling me my medical detail was perfect, I thought that might offend people for not writing accurately.**

 **Another thing, remember how I said I was going to tell you about my future stories? Well, I have decided to do a follow up chapter from THIS CHAPTER about my story ideas. Your welcome!**

 **Last thing, I actually plan on extending this story as far as I can. No more of that, "I'll be done with it at chapter fifteen" crap. If you like that idea, Thank Ranger. He told me that this story has the potential of going further, so that is what I plan on doing.**

 **WELCOME TO CHAPTER 14 OF BRING HER HOME!**

As much as Chase wanted to barge into the recovery room and help with the surgery, he couldn't. the chance that he might disrupt a delicate procedure was too high. But the urge continued to nag at him. It kept telling him, "go in there, go in there. You know you want to help!" Yet, Chase fought it like a champion and decided to just leave the procedure to the professionals. He began to pace around the room, waiting for Marshall or Zoe to come out and tell him something.

"Hey, you alright, Chase?", asked a voice behind him.

He turned and saw the other two Healers, Drake and Sampson, standing at the entrance of the den. "Yeah, I'm fine," he sniffed, trying his best not to cry. But a rogue tear broke free of his grip and began to slide down his cheek.

"Clearly not," said Sampson, walking up to Chase and placing a paw on his back.

"You know you can tell us, Chase," stated Drake, also placing a paw on Chase's back. "We are Healers and we are also friends," he explained.

"It's just," he began to say but stopped abruptly. "My friend, Atlas, is having surgery right now in the recovery den and I can't help."

"Why not?", asked Drake. "Surely there is something you can do to help, right?" he said looking at Sampson, who gave a shrug.

"No there isn't," growled Chase, starting to lose his temper. "They said I was to attached to the situation at hand that I might screw up."

Sampson understood but he wasn't having this. He stepped in front of Chase and took one swipe of his paw. It collided with Chase's muzzle, stunning the Shepherd. "You need to understand something buddy," he snapped, gritting his teeth. "They are doing it for the greater good. You not seeing that is beyond me."

Chase let his fur lay down and let his heart stop beating excessively. He finally was relaxed enough to speak. "Your right," he whispered. "They are doing it for the greater good, that's why I'm not allowed in there." He looked up at Sampson. "I'm sorry!" he apologized, dreading the fact he was getting angry for no reason.

"Your forgiven," Sampson said, looking at Drake. "Let's see what we can do to help them."

Drake only nodded as he and Sampson made their way to the recovery den. Drake ducked inside but Sampson stopped. "Chase I want you to know that," he said, turning his head back expecting to find Chase.

Chase wasn't there!

"Chase?" Sampson called out, thinking he was just hiding from plain sight.

No response

Sampson looked down in disappointment and sighed. "I only wanted to tell him that I would do everything in my power to help Atlas," he whispered to himself.

"Sampson!", called a voice from inside the recovery cave. "We could use your help here."

"Coming," he responded curtly. "I'll tell Chase later," he said to himself before ducking into the cave.

Chase had decided to duck out of the cave when their backs were turned. He felt as though he could not contribute to the procedure so he decided he need alone time. So he went to the cherry blossom tree in the central hub clearing. He sat up against the trunk of the tree and stared off into space. He didn't notice Ajax and Everest walking up to him.

"Chase, you okay?" asked Ajax with a concerned tone.

Chase didn't even hear him. His mind was busy daydreaming to notice or hear anything. He saw a grave stone with Atlas's name engraved on it. In this dream, Atlas had died. He had lost too much blood during the procedure and bled out before he could do anything. He felt the pain that could come to him. It had seemed to gnaw at his belly and rip him apart. Suddenly he was shoved gently and the dream stopped, snapping him into the real world. He saw Ajax and Everest standing in front of him with concerned looks on their faces.

"How long have you two been standing there?" He asked curiously

"Not long," said Everest, sitting down next to Chase. Her fur touched his which seemed to relax him. "What's on your mind?"

"Its just…..," he paused. "I thought of Atlas dying and it felt so real," he explained with a depressed sniff.

"He's going to be fine, Chase," said Ajax, placing a paw on Chase's shoulder. "He has the best of the best helping him right now. He'll pull through, I promise."

Chase looked Ajax in the eye, his muzzle inches from Ajax's. "I'm holding you up to that." He looked over at Everest, who tried her best to stay cheerful and hopeful. "Can I have a moment with Ajax? I'll come find you when we are finished," he explained, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Everest nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I'll be with Holly if you need me," she said as she walked away from the two males. Her head slouched and tail dropped.

As soon as Everest was gone, Chase lunged at Ajax pinning him to the ground. "It sucks to be the victim now doesn't it," he growled. Some wolves had noticed what was going on and gathered around. But Chase hardly noticed them.

Ajax was shocked. "Chase," he grunted. "What are you doing?"

"Everything that has happened to my friend has been because of you," he snapped. "You sent your pawns out to exact revenge on my friends. Now, my friend has a chance of dying because of it. What do you have to say for yourself?"

The wolves looked at one another and then down at Ajax. They were curious about his answer.

Ajax saw all the trained eyes on him and decided to wasn't best to lie. "Chase, you have every right to be angry with me. You truly do!" he whispered. "I was angry at Jax getting hurt, he's my pack member after all."

"But he is my son!" Chase shouted. "You might be pack leader and hard decisions are a part of pack life, but a revenge attack on my friends was not called for and you know it." He got off Ajax, allowing the wolf leader to stand up.

"What would you know about hard decisions?" Ajax growled, defending himself. "You've probably never made a hard decision in your life."

That statement was false and Chase knew it. Ajax was tying to get an edge over him but it couldn't withstand Chase's counter attack. "I make hard decisions every day. They've shaped me into who I am today." Chase saw all the hard decisions, he had to make in the past, flash before his eyes. Everything from testifying against a crook to shooting a kid. "If you want a hard decision, step into my paws for a day. Did you know that I had to shoot a kid because he pulled a gun on me?"

Everyone gasped even Ajax

"No, I didn't," said Ajax, feeling like throwing up. "How old was the kid?"

"He was 16," responded Chase regretfully. "It was the hardest decision I had to make ever," he whispered.

Ajax seemed to forget everything that happened in the last few minutes and sat next to Chase. "I'd like to hear this story, if that's OK?" he asked

Chase was taken back. Ajax had just set aside the argument for a past story that I mentioned, he thought. "Well me and Atlas were on a routine patrol. It was our last one of the day before the shift ended but then…..," he said, beginning to tell the horrific story.

 **Flashback…..**

Chase and Atlas were on their last patrol of the day. The entire day had just dragged on and on. There had only been one call in but it turns out it was just a misunderstanding. So, Chase and Atlas decided to exchange stories. Atlas was in the middle of a pretty good story.

"So I'm just getting up to the convention stand where she was standing and the unthinkable happened," said Atlas, getting excited.

"What happened?" asked Chase

"She looked me dead in the eye and said, Your kinda cute," he smiled, starting to turn red

"No way," said Chase in disbelief

"Yes, way," he retorted. "And she got up and took a picture of her and me. After that she planted one on my cheek."

"You lucky, dog!" said Chase jealously

Suddenly the radio went static and a radio operator started talking.

"We got a possible code 417 on the corner of Dell and Court. Any units in the area, please respond," explained the female voice.

Chase was riding shotgun, so it was his responsibility to respond to radio calls. "This is K-9 unit 3, officers Chase and Atlas, responding to possible Code 417 on corner of Dell and Court, over,"

"Copy that," responded the operator. "Suspect should be presumed armed and dangerous. Lethal force if necessary."

"Get us there, Atlas," said Chase, looking at his partner before returning to the radio. "Roger that, has the suspect been identified yet?"

"Yes, caller reported the suspects name is Trey White. 16 years old with a few priors including: vandalism and shoplifting. In and out of the can a couple of times."

"I appreciate it, send additional units in case the situation turns deadly, Unit 3 out" said Chase, putting the radio down. "How close are we?"

"It's just around the corner," he shouted over the siren. "Get your gun ready, we might be engaged."

Chase nodded as he pulled out his pistol, an M1911. It had belonged to his father up until he died. He pulled the slide back, chambered a round, and put the gun back on safe. "Ready," he informed.

Atlas nodded. "There they are," he said, pointing a paw down the street.

Trey had a gun pointed at a women. She was sitting on the front steps of a house and Trey was in front of her with the gun held tightly on her forehead. He looked over at the approaching squad car but held the gun at the women's head. His face was covered in beads of sweat as he was anxious and angry.

Atlas pulled the car to a complete stop. Chase opened his door with his sidearm drawn and Atlas was shortly behind. He had a Glock, which was standard issue. "Trey White, put the gun down now!" shouted Atlas, aiming his pistol center mass on Trey.

Trey didn't even move. "Not until she gets what she deserves," he snapped.

"Trey!" said Chase, raising his voice. "It doesn't have to be like this. She doesn't need to die."

"YES, YES IT DOES," he shouted, pressing the gun against the woman's forehead.

The women was shaking in place and crying. Her hands were raised and she spoke in Spanish; a language that Chase nor Atlas could speak.

"Shut up!" he exclaimed, pistol whipping the woman in the head. Her head hit the concrete and she lay motionless.

"Trey, I'm not going to ask again," explained Atlas. "Put the gun on the ground and surrender."

"Do as he asks Trey," ordered Chase, hoping the woman was alright. "This is your final warning."

"It may be my last warning but I have multiple outs," he explained. He started to slowly inch the gun towards the two Shepherds.

"Trey, don't do it," growled Atlas. "It doesn't have to end like this."

Trey didn't listen as he quickly snapped the gun at them, firing off pot shots. Atlas ducked into cover but Chase remained exposed.

Chase set the bead, on his sidearm, at Trey's chest before taking a deep breath. Time seemed to slow down as he pulled the trigger.

CRACK!

And Trey's body fell lifeless to the ground. His life on this planet had just been expired.

 **Flashback ends…..**

"So you see now?" asked Chase. "I do make hard decisions. That one being one of the hardest I ever made."

The wolves around him had wide eyes and shocked expressions on their faces. Who would have thought that Chase had to do something like that? They looked at Ajax, who had the same look on his face.

"Chase," he said, placing a paw on Chase's shoulder. He looked deeply into the eyes of the German Shepherd. "I'm sorry for everything. I hope it hasn't changed your mind on joining us."

"I've actually made my decision!" exclaimed Chase, with a blank face. He didn't want to expose his answer just yet.

"And?" asked Atlas. "What have you decided?"

Chase looked at the hopeful faces around him before setting his gaze back on Ajax. "I've decided to stay," he whispered, forming a smile.

The wolves started to cheer and howl. Chase decided to stay with the pack. It made Ajax excited too. He was jumping up and down and howling to his heart content.

"This is great news, Chase!" he cried, happily. "What made you change your mind?"

"You did, with your hard decisions comment," he explained. "It made me realize that I can't make a hard decision like that again, especially at the cost of a life."

"Well, then that makes feel better," he laughed, with a wag of the tail. "I thought you were going to hate me for that comment."

"Oh, I do," giggled Chase, wiping a happy tear from his eyes. "But, I get over things quickly." He noticed Holly and Everest emerge from a cave. Chase pushed his way through the crowd with Ajax shortly behind him.

"What's going on?" asked Holly curiously

"Yeah, we heard a commotion. Is everything alright?" asked Everest

"Oh, everything is fine," he said, with a shrug and wave of the paw. "But I have some news to share," he said sternly, trying to hide his excitement.

"What is it?" asked Holly and Everest

"I've decided that I want to stay with the pack," he said with a burst

Holly and Everest's faces, if they didn't have fur, would have gone pale. Everest lunged at him, using her weight to literally drag him to the ground. She battered his face with licks and kissed him deeply.

Holly gagged in disgust. "Get a cave you two, you're embarrassing me!" she exclaimed, trying to hide the fact her parents were getting intimate in front of her.

Chase pulled away from the kiss and looked at her. "One day, my daughter, you'll be doing the same in front of your children," he chuckled.

Holly bit her lip at his comment. "Yeah, if I even have children!" she said in disbelief.

Everest looked at Holly. "I said the same thing when I was your age," she said. "And look where I am now?" She said looking around at Holly deeply and lovingly.

Chase stood up and hugged his daughter tightly, giving her a kiss on the side of the head. "On the bright side, I'll get to know you better," he added, with a smile.

Everest stepped in between the two. "Alright Chase, I think you've embarrassed her enough," she explained.

Ajax coughed to get their attention. "Not to intrude on your family session but I think there is one more dog that needs to know this news," he explained, with a twitch of his head toward the Healers den.

"Right!" exclaimed Chase. "Jax and…Atlas, if he is through his surgery," he said, with a whimper. He looked towards the Healers Den. "What if Atlas hates my decision?"

"I know he is your friend, Chase, and I respect that but ask yourself. What is best for you?" added Ajax with a concerned look on his face.

Chase sighed with a nod of understanding. "You're right! It is up to me whether or not I want to stay. I shouldn't have the influence of friends in important decisions." He started to walk towards the Healers den and noticed Holly, Everest, and Ajax starting to follow. He stopped abruptly. "I'd like to go alone, if that's okay?" he pleaded. "It's just that I want to be the one to deliver the news, free from distraction."

Ajax nodded approval. "I understand, Chase," he said

"Fair enough!" grumbled Holly. Everest gave her a sharp prod in the side

"Best of luck to you, my love," said Everest, with a quick kiss on the lips.

Chase dipped his head and turned towards the Healers den once more. When he arrived in the den, he made his way across to the recovery den. As he got closer to the den, Marshall and Zoe stepped out in front of him. He nearly collided with them but had applied the brakes just in time; he was inches from them.

"Oh, sorry, Chase!" apologized Marshall. "I didn't think you were still around."

"How is he?" he asked worryingly, trying to peek over their shoulders, hoping to get a glimpse of his friend.

"He'll be okay," reassured Zoe. "He just needs time to rest, which is why it is best for him to stay here while he recovers," she explained.

"I totally understand," said Chase. He looked at Marshall. "When you get a minute, I'd like to have a word with you?"

"Okay, just let me get cleaned up and I'll be right back," he said, walking past Chase with Zoe close behind. Chase watched them leave. "I know it might be cheating but damn does Zoe look good," he whispered to himself, causing him to blush. His ears dropped, hoping no one heard him.

"Dad, is that you?" asked Jax from within the recovery den

"Yeah, one second I'll be right there," he said, walking into the den. _Did he hear what I just said. I hope not!_ He thought.

He found Jax nest next to Sylvia's. The Belgian Sheepdog was sleeping deeply, judging by the sound of her breathing. She seemed peaceful and relaxed, her head had not been bothering her. Chase looked at Jax. The young wolf was standing up in his nest, but Chase could see his legs were still weak, judging by the shaking.

"You shouldn't be standing," he ordered. "A gunshot takes time to heal, especially for a first timer like yourself. Trust me, I know!" He held up his left front leg, revealing a scar from a gunshot.

"What happened?" asked Jax, with a gasp

"Some trainee was messing around on the shooting range and a bullet ricocheted off a piece of metal straight into my leg," he explained, with a grunt. "That trainee couldn't stand up straight for a month once I was done with him."

"Serves him right," exclaimed Jax. "He shot the coolest dad in the world!" He planted his rear in the nest and flopped over on his side.

"What did I have to do to get a son like you?"

"Do you want a legit answer or a sarcastic answer?" giggled Jax. "I could answer both you know."

Chase laughed. "Yep, you are definitely your mothers kid."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Jax, defensively.

"All good things, my son, all good thing," he explained with a friendly pat on the shoulder. "So I have some news to share with you."

"What is it? Is it bad?" Jax asked with a worried voice

"No, it's quite the opposite," reassured Chase. "I've made a decision recently that may shock you," he warned.

Jax looked at Chase with an unsure look. "Go on," he mumbled

"I've decided to join the pack and live here."

Jax's mouth dropped in shock. "You what?"

"Judging by your reaction, you heard me," exclaimed Chase. "Do you not want me to stay?" He challenged

"No, I do, it's just that," he paused. "I didn't expect you to up and join us that quickly. And what of your injured friend?"

"What about him," Chase challenged.

Jax gulped. "Well, how is he supposed to get home without you?"

"For the time being, he is going to be staying here until he is well enough to be moved," explained Chase.

"But what about after?" He asked. "It's not like he wants to stay."

Chase shrugged. "It's up to Ajax, not me." His ears perked at a new sound. It was a groaning sound. Chase looked over at Atlas and saw him moving. He rushed over to his friend and saw that his eyes were slightly open. "Hey, buddy," he whispered. "How you feeling?"

The black Shepherd had a large amount of medical gauze around his chest. His neck had a brace and his muzzle had a oxygen mask. His vitals were steady and strong according to the machine. Atlas tried to speak but due to surgery on his throat, words weren't coming out.

"Don't try and talk, buddy," he ordered. "I'm going to ask you some questions. Just nod and shake your head to answer, OK."

Atlas nodded his head slowly

"Were your chest injuries from the wolves?" He asked. It was the first question that came to mind.

Atlas shook his head.

Chase sighed in relief, he wasn't going to have to kill one of his new pack mates. "Were the injuries to your chest recent? Like in the last month."

Atlas nodded

"Job related?"

Atlas nodded

Chase was slowly starting to put two and two together. "Did you get shot during the raid?" he asked with a croak.

Atlas took his time to reply. His eyes were tearing up and his heart rate was rising. He finally looked Chase in the eye and nodded yes.

Chase was furious. His eyes were full of rage and his fur was ruffled. He stepped away from Atlas and slammed his paws on a nearby table. "WHY ATLAS?" He shouted. "You came here, with me, to Adventure Bay with four broken ribs." He walked up to Atlas. "What were you thinking?"

The machine started to beep wildly. Atlas's heart rate was rising dramatically. His eyes were pouring tears as he knew he screwed up. Chase knew he had to calm him down.

"Atlas, you know I'm angry but I need you to relax." He said placing a paw gently on the Shepherds chest. "Your heart rate could easily fail with how weak you are. So I'm asking you to please calm down. I'm sorry," he whispered

Almost instantly, Atlas's heart rate began to level out at a normal rate.

Chase sighed in relief and pat his friend on the belly. "Now, I just want to know why you came to Adventure Bay with your injuries," he explained nicely.

"I can answer that," said a voice behind Chase. He turned to see Marshall standing in front of him.

"And how would you know?" Chase challenged

"Because he told me. Right before the surgery," stated Marshall

Chase shook his head in confusion. "Okay and?" he pressed

"Even though he was injured, he thought that you needed company on this trip. So he hid his injuries and came out here with you," quoted Marshall.

Chase smirked in understanding. "It makes sense, the idea of Everest missing made me emotional and he knew about it." Chase looked at Marshall. "Have you even seen Everest around?"

Marshall froze at the comment. "She's alive!" he exclaimed. "How can that be?"

"I don't know!", laughed Chase. "Why don't you ask her yourself?" he said, looking beyond Marshall.

Marshall followed his gaze until his eyes set upon Everest. Holly was with her too. He slowly approached her with caution as if he was seeing a ghost. "Everest? Is it really you?" He asked

Everest said nothing as she lunged at Marshall, pinning him to the ground.

Marshall had the breath knocked out of his lungs and he struggled to breathe some air before finally inhaling deeply. "Yep, it's you alright," he groaned with a cough. "Still got that lunge I can see," he said with another cough.

Everest got up off the dally and helped him up. "It's good to see you Marshall!" she said giving him a hug.

"It's good to see you too," he said, releasing from the hug. "And it is good to know that you are alive and well." He caught a glimpse of her companion and looked at her. "And who might you be?" He asked, unaware of the growl from Chase.

"Marshall," said Everest, gesturing to Holly to come forth. "This is my daughter, Holly. Holly, this your Uncle Marshall," she introduced.

"Who's the father?" he asked curiously. "I may have seen him when I came in."

"You've seen him multiple times. To be honest, you two grew up together," she hinted, flicking her eyes at Chase.

Marshall turned to look at Chase. The shepherd stood proud and alert. "You're the father of this girl?' he asked.

"Indeed, I am," he responded

Marshall let out a little chuckle. "She clearly gets her looks from her mother," he joked.

"I resent that," called Jax from the other side of the cave.

"Who's that?" asked Marshall

"He's my brother," said Holly

Marshall started to laugh. "Oh this day just keeps getting better and better. Congratulations you two," he said to Chase and Everest.

Chase looked back at Atlas, who was now sleeping. "Hey, let's clear out and let Atlas get some quiet," he called out to the group. He noticed Sylvia pop her head up in the other side of the cave. "Hey Sylvia, do you need to stretch your legs?" he asked

"Yeah, if that's okay with you," she responded as she began to rise out of the nest. Her legs were wobbly but she maintained balance. She stepped out of her nest and walked over to the group.

"Good to see you, Sylvia," said Marshall

"You too, Marshall," she responded

"Hey, what about me?" asked Jax jealously

Chase and Holly made their way over to him. "Come on, get up. We'll help you out of here."

Jax began to get up slowly. His legs trembled weakly and he swayed like a tree in the wind. He slowly started to get out of the nest but he began to rush it. Almost causing him to fall.

"Take it easy, don't get ahead of yourself," warned Chase

Jax nodded and took it slower. He made sure at least three paws were planted firmly before lifting the fourth. After about a minute of sloth-like flexing, Jax was out of the nest. "Ah, it feels nice to stand on solid ground again," he loathed.

Chase and Holly both took a side on Jax and helped him walk. Chase looked at Everest. "Lead the way," he told Everest.

And the whole group left the recovery cave, leaving Atlas alone to rest.

 **OK, Just so you know. I nearly made a 5,000 word chapter but I decided to stay consistent with all the other chapters. But this chapter is the longest chapter so far. 4700+ words. As usual, new chapter = new questions.**

 **Should Atlas join the pack or return home?**

 **Do you like the flashbacks?**

 **If you answered no to the last one than, Should I have less flashbacks?**

 **Who is your favorite Author on this site and which story? (I want to find a good read)**

 **That's all I got right now**

 **Thanks for reading my story and I hope it keeps on making plead for more content. I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Atlas out**

 **(PS: Next chapter consists of future story ideas so some of you may get excited. Others may get disappointed)**


	15. Chapter 15

**5,000 VIEWS, WOOHOO! I actually, for a moment, thought that it wouldn't happen. But you guys did it and I thank you for it. It makes me super happy knowing that my content it attracting attention. So, to thank you, I have just one question for you.**

 **WHO WANTS A SEQUEL TO THIS STORY?**

 **I actually wasn't planning on making one but with how well the story is doing, I thought, Why not? It wouldn't be made until I get my next story finished, which gives me time to plan it out and make it so it correlates to this story. So if you like the idea, leave a review.**

 **And guess what? WE MADE IT TO CHAPTER 15! Since this chapter is kind of a mile marker, I'm gonna make it at least 5,000 words strong because of the 5,000 views.**

 **One final thing, I promise. I have a chapter in this story, the one before this one, that contains a list of ideas for future stories. I also put up a poll for the best idea between those three ideas. So if you guys could take a moment to do that poll, it would really help me out. One more thing related this, One of the ideas is going to be a correlation project with an unnamed writer (Don't want the ideas to be glorified in anyway so it has to be fair). If you want to correlate on Ideas 2 or 3, let me know and I'll see what I can do.**

 **THE POLL IS ON MY PAGE, JUST CLICK ON MY USERNAME AND IT SHOULD BE AT THE TOP. THANKS MY FRIENDS!**

 **Anyway, Thanks for helping me get this far and lets get right into it**

 **WELCOME TO CHAPTER 15 OF, BRING HER HOME!**

In a reminder of Chase's new found home, a celebration was ignited. It had been a couple of days since he announced his decision to stay with the pack. Chase couldn't be more happy with what everyone was doing for him. The hunters had brought in fresh kills of all kinds: some deer, a few elk, and one moose. "How the heck did you take this monster down?" asked Chase, when he saw it.

"Skill and guts, my friend," the wolf responded with a chuckle.

The warriors had organized the central hub clearing and got it all cleaned up. The walls had been painted, in mud, with neat designs and colors. Some others had made a sort of platform near the base of the cherry blossom. When Chase walked across it, he found that it was very sturdy and stable. How do they do these things? He thought. He didn't notice Ajax behind him.

"What are you doing, Chase? Asked Ajax, causing Chase to jump slightly. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Chase's muscles were tensed up from the sudden voice behind him. "It's fine," he said. He turned and saw Ajax standing there but something was off with his fur. It was practically covered in white. "What's up with your fur? He asked perplexed.

Ajax looked at his fur as well. "It's ceremonial war paint," he explained. "Being the leader of the pack, I speak in front of the entire pack during ceremonies and really just about everything."

Chase nodded. "That's way cool," he complimented

Ajax scoffed. "Not when you have been doing it for a while," he laughed.

"Well, it won't be your responsibility when you grow old," Chase explained.

"That's going to be a while," groaned Ajax. "But, I got to do it. I have to get our new member initiated," he stated, looking at Chase. A wolf came up behind him.

"We are ready and the stage is set," he told Ajax.

"Thank you, Cody," said Ajax patting the wolf on the shoulder

Cody dipped his head and left them alone.

"Who was that?" asked Chase. "He looked like he was born yesterday."

"That was Cody," Ajax explained. "It's…..complicated. I'll explain later."

"I got time," said Chase. "Ceremony isn't until later this evening."

"Fair enough," said Ajax. "Where do I start?" he asked himself

"Usually from the beginning," said Chase slightly sarcastically

"Well that will makes things easier," he responded taking a seat by Chase. "Alright so about two years ago….," he began

 **Flashback….. (Because I know you guys love these things)**

Ajax walked into the central hub clearing. He was young, razor sharp and was probably the best of his generation. His knack for doing as he was told when he was told had caught the attention of the pack leader, Archer. And that was who he was meeting with today in the central hub clearing.

His mother and father would have been proud of him, if they lived to really see their child grow up. His mother had died giving birth to him so he had no recollection of her. The only memories he knew were told in stories by his pack mates. His father had sacrificed himself to helping a human, until the human turned on him and killed him. He grew up practically an orphan but someone saw potential and raised him as their own.

Ajax made his way to the cherry blossom tree and began to scan the area. But his eyes didn't find any trace of his pack leader anywhere. "Where could he be?" he pondered. "How hard is it to lose a pack leader, honestly?" he joked.

"I don't know you tell me," came a familiar voice.

Ajax looked up into the tree and saw Archer balancing on one of the trees thick branches. "How did you get up there?"

"I climbed up here," responded Archer jumping down from the tree. He landed in front of Ajax causing settled dirt to stir up dust. "Wolves have to adapt to survive," he explained getting a hug from Ajax. "How do you think we manage to keep this place a secret?" he asked questioningly returning the hug

Ajax let go and shrugged because he didn't have a very logical answer. "Because we've learned that humans are bad," he suggested. Maybe it was a right answer. "Am I right?" he asked with a hopeful glance.

Archer shook his head. "Not all humans are bad, Ajax," he stated. "Who put this nonsense in your head? Don't worry they aren't in trouble!"

"Just…some of my friends…..that's all," shuddered Ajax, hoping Archer wasn't mad at him.

Archer said nothing as he planted a paw on Ajax's shoulder. "You don't have to worry, I understand," he explained

"You do?"

"Of course, when I was about your age, I had the same thoughts as you and your friends do now," said Archer, reliving the memories of his past youth. "Those were the good old days," he said gazing around the clearing. "But some of my best were with you, when you were a wee lad," he said leveling his paw at a short height off the ground.

Archer was the one who took Ajax under his wing. He taught him the importance of a strong pack and how it would affect his life if he didn't. It's what shaped him into what he is now and will continue to guide him for as long as he shall live.

"When you came into my life, I couldn't have been more happy with my life," he said looking into Ajax's eyes. "You were that piece of the puzzle that made me feel whole." He hugged Ajax. "I would have been proud to have called you son."

"And I would have been happy to call you father," responded Ajax trying not to get emotional.

"Archer, sir," came a new voice. An exhausted one at that.

It was Edge, one the packs best warriors.

"What is it Edge?" demanded Archer.

"It's….. it's the umm…," he said losing his train of thought

Archer grabbed Edge and shook him gently. "Edge, relax and collect your thoughts," he said to the wolf.

Edge began to slowly relax and took deep breaths, in and out. "It's the Northern Pack, they've crossed into our territory demanding to speak with you," he explained.

Archer's muzzle slowly formed a snarl. "They will never learn!" he growled

"We need to teach them a lesson," exclaimed Ajax. "That way they finally learn what we are made of."

Archer stared at Ajax. "You show courage young one, but you know that there is always a peaceful way out of things."

"I'm sorry Archer," said Edge. "But I agree with him. You've shown no aggression towards the Northern Pack. Sooner or later they are going to take over," he argued

Archer sighed. "You do prove a great point, my friend," he said sadly knowing he had lost this battle. "But I just can't lead my pack into a pointless border skirmish."

Edge finally let loose, setting aside chain of command. "So your going to let them invade our territory. Archer I hate to say this but…..," he snarled getting Archer's full attention. "You are being a coward and a fool!"

Archer winced at his comment because it was true. He had pretty much led his pack as a closet pacifist. He never wanted to fight but he knew he had to. "You're right, Edge," he said looking at his pack mate. "You are absolutely right." Archer face seemed to transform from sad to ambitious. "Get a war party together. We are taking them down!"

Edge's face lit up with victory. "Already done, sir," he said as the war party came in.

It consisted of the packs toughest and fastest fighters. They had their game faces on and were ready to pounce on anything that moved. Edge took his place among them. Archer stood high and proud, ready to address his party.

"My warriors," he announced proudly. "We seem to have found ourselves in a little predicament, haven't we?"

The party howled their answer. Their howls echoing throughout the cave system causing some dirt to fall from the ceiling.

"Well, I plan to fix it with the help of you," he said gesturing to the wolves. "Can I count on you to get the job done?"

"We won't let you down," said one of the wolves stepping forward before finally retaining his previous place

"You can count on us," said another wolf doing the same movement as the last wolf. "We will do what is necessary!"

"I know you all will do what you have to do," he explained. "Just to make sure. You are all aware of what needs to be done and what the plan is correct?"

The wolves nodded in unison. Edge had already planned out everything.

Archer nodded and sighed relief. "Let's move out," he ordered.

The wolf party turned around as a group and began to shuffle out of the hub clearing towards the exit. Archer began to follow them but was stopped by Edge and Ajax.

"What is it?" he asked both of them

Ajax immediately hugged Archer tightly. "Come home safe, please!" he cried. "Promise me!" he demanded

Archer squeezed the young wolf in his arms. "I promise," he said with one final squeeze before letting go. "Now go and find your friends. They are probably looking for you."

Ajax nodded slowly and left the two older males. His head and tail drooped at the thought of losing Archer. He couldn't lose another family member again.

Edge watched him go. "He'll be okay," he stated looking at Archer. "I, also, have something to ask of you my friend."

"What is it?" asked Archer

"It's about Cody!" he explained. "If I don't make it….I need you to….," he started but was instantly silenced.

"I know where you are going with this and it's not going to happen, you know why?" said Archer deeply and softly.

"Why?" sniffed Edge

"Because you are going to come home safely. I promise," reassured Archer.

Edge nodded as he started to walking towards the cave exit but Archer remained. He looked toward the Cherry Blossom tree. It was in full bloom, its branches adorned with beautiful pink flowers. He whispered a phrase to himself. Little did he know that this phrase was going to lie to him in the future. "I promise to bring everyone home safely," he whispered. Archer gave one last look at the tree before running to the cave exit.

 **Flashback ends…..**

Chase was shocked. Ajax was the step-son of the previous pack leader. "So what do you remember next?" persisted Chase. He was acting like a three year old in a candy store.

Ajax gave Chase a gaze that would scar you for the rest of your life. His eyes were full of sadness and grief. "Edge didn't make it home that day," whimpered Ajax.

Chase's enthusiasm died with the gaze. "What happened to him?"

Ajax snarled. "What do you think happened to him?" he snapped. "He died! What part of, he didn't come home that day, do you not understand?"

Chase was horrified at his friends reaction. "I understood what you meant!" he whispered. "How did he die?"

Ajax stared at Chase apologetically. He only asked a question because he was confused, he thought. It wasn't his fault for what happened to Edge. "He died from his injuries during the battle," he whispered softly. "He wouldn't have survived either way. He lost too much blood, it would have been pointless to try and do anything."

"I'm sorry," said Chase. "But what of his son, Cody?"

"Archer did as Edge requested," he stated. "He raised Cody as well as me. Cody was only a few months when it happened so he actually thought for a while that Archer was his father."

"How did he take that news?" asked Chase curiously

"He took it surprisingly well actually," responded Ajax. "He's pretty tough for how old he is?

"You're a good role model for him!" pointed out Chase. "He's very loyal to you"

"Indeed he is," said Ajax. "It's too bad that Archer and Edge can't see what an amazing wolf he has turned into," he whimpered

"I bet he can see what Cody has become," countered Chase

"You know what I meant," joked Ajax, punching Chase in the shoulder

Chase stumbled forward from the dead arm that Ajax just gave him. "Yeah, I know," he groaned. "Jeez you hit like a girl!" he laughed

"What's that supposed to mean?" growled a pair of voices behind him. But there was a faint, muffled giggle from one of them.

Chase tensed up and slowly turned to see Everest and Holly staring at him mischievously. The two girls slowly began to walk toward him. This caused Chase to become uneasy and uncomfortable. "Wait!" he pleaded holding up his paws. "I can explain"

Everest and Holly stopped and looked at each other. "Do you want the head or the legs?" asked Everest in a faint whisper.

"I'll take the head so you can't make out with him," she smirked.

Chase looked over to find that Ajax had stepped back by about twenty feet. "What are you doing over there?" Chase asked

"You are on your own, brother!" laughed Ajax before retreating into a cave but popped his head out momentarily "Best of luck to you and ladies," he said getting their attention. "He has a ceremony later so make sure he can at least stand when you're finished with him," he chuckled before ducking back into the cave

"Oh, don't worry," snarled Everest. She looked Chase dead in the eye. "We won't hurt him….," she grabbed his throat gently. "Much!"

In almost a flash, Chase was pummeled to the ground by Everest. She had gone straight for the legs, tripping Chase. Holly dived on him playfully but to Chase, it was like a WWE match. Chase flailed wildly trying to get lose but he only made it worse; Holly and Everest had him pinned.

"What should we do with him?" asked Holly. "He has to pay for what he said about us females"

"I think I might know a group that can help us out," giggled Everest. "Let's send him to the nursery, where all the young pups are just getting up from their naps right about now."

"Oooh, I'm so scared," sneered Chase sarcastically. But his mouth was pressed shut instantly by Holly

"That's a great idea," she said. "But how do we get him there without him getting loose?"

"Way ahead of you," exclaimed Everest grabbing a bag from a nearby bush.

Chase looked at the bag. It was his hiking bag. And he knew exactly what Everest was going for.

The climbing rope!

Everest looked at Holly evilly. "Let's tie him up!" She began to tie Chase's arms and legs together. Once she was done tying and was satisfied, they began to drag Chase across the ground towards the nursery.

It took them a while to get through the large crowd that had gathered to watch them drag Chase. They were like a concrete wall. Their snickering embarrassed Chase beyond capacity but they began to step aside to let the girls drag him through.

"Are we there yet?" asked Chase impatiently. "I'd like to get this over with!"

Everest stopped immediately and looked down at her mate. "Because you need to be taught a lesson," she smiled giving Chase a kiss. "Don't you think?"

"No!" Chase said defensively. "You taking me down and tying me up was an embarrassment as it was."

Holly looked down at her father playfully. "Sucks to be you now, doesn't it?"

Everest looked up and saw a few wolf pups staring at them. She looked down at Chase. "Lets get this party started!" And she started to drag Chase into the nursery.

Inside there were large nests; bigger than a normal nest. Chase noticed this. "Why are the nests so big?

A female in one of the nests answered his question, her pups jumping out of it. "You think we sleep in these nests alone," she chuckled. She looked at the two females. "What can we help you with?"

Holly answered her. "We actually need the pups help on this one!" she gazed around for the other pups

The female put her paw up. "One second." She began to whistle and almost instantly the pups were crowding the nursery. "Nursery pups at your service, Everest"

"Thank you!" She set her eyes on the adorable faces looking at her. "Can you guys and gals do something for me?"

All the pups stared at each other blankly. "What do you want us to do, Ms. Everest?" asked a young male shyly.

Everest immediately grabbed Chase and, with Holly's help, moved him in front of the pups. "My friend here is in deep trouble," she explained giving Chase a pat on the chest. "I need you pups to punish him for me."

"What did he do?" smiled one of the mothers curiously.

"He said I hit like a girl!" she exclaimed causing the females in the room to gasp.

Chase's face went red with embarrassment. "Oh, I'm already regretting that," he whispered to himself. "If I may state my defense I…" he was instantly silenced with a paw on his mouth

"Nope, not happening," growled Holly but her eyes were playful; she was enjoying this.

"What will you have us do?" asked one of the pups. Their eyes and body language were full of mischief. They were jumping up and down and their eyes were full of excitement.

"We'll leave that up to you but there is one condition" said Holly making sure she had their full attention. "No biting, scratching, slapping or kicking. He has a ceremony later and we would prefer that he is able to attend. So please be gentle but makes sure he gets the message."

Both females got off of Chase and withdrew to the nursery entrance. They stopped and looked back a Chase who had an ashamed look on his face; Everest almost felt sorry for him. "You know if you were any more handsome, I'd say I felt sorry for you," she giggled

"And?" asked Chase, his face turned from ashamed to scared very fast; high performance drag race fast. The pups were slowly advancing on him, ready to pounce at any moment.

Everest didn't even answer his question. "I'll see you later, Chase," she said leaving Chase's view with Holly in tail.

"Do you think we were to hard on him?" asked Holly sliding in beside her mother.

"No!" Everest exclaimed. She turned her head back towards the nursery. Time to make him pay! "GET HIM!" Her ears perked up for Chase's reaction.

"Wait fellas, let me explain?!" Chase scared out of his wits. Bullets and bad guys were of no comparison for puppies; especially wild wolf pups.

They immediately jumped on him, causing him to scream out in assistance. A pup jumped on his head and shut his mouth. "It'll all be over soon," he giggled maniacally

 **A FEW HOURS LATER…..**

Chase was in a bad mood! His muscles were sore from the brutality of the wolf pups. "Damn, and I thought gunshots hurt worse!" But it wasn't just his body that was scarred but his mental state was out of whack. A running leaf or any sound that was remotely similar to a pup, made him jump. He was on edge and it was very uncomfortable for him.

The ceremony was getting close to starting. Everyone was beginning to gather in the hub clearing. Ajax had already prepped him on what to do. All he had to do was walk on stage with Ajax when he said a certain phrase. He watched Ajax walk up in stage.

His fur was shining and his eyes gleamed. The paint on is fur had been freshly painted and he wore a sort of necklace. It was made of vines and twigs and was adorned with flowers; cherry blossom flowers. His head and eyes gazed across at the vast amount of wolves in the hub clearing. Ajax was proud of his accomplishments. He had restored the pack to it's former glory, making them one of the most feared packs in the park. He took in a deep breath and began to give his speech.

"Welcome my friends, my family and young ones," he started causing an uproar of howls and whistles. He held a paw up high, instantly silencing them. His mouth shaped a smile. "Thank you!...Today, we have a very special individual who wishes to join us. Some of you may recognize him from the embarrassment he was given earlier." This caused everyone to give a brief laugh before silencing their muzzles. "I'd like to introduce, Chase," he announced holding his paw out to his side.

That was Chase's signal! But Chase paused as he got close to the stage. Do I really want to do this? He wasn't sure he was ready to throw his life away. But he wasn't really worried about his job, he was worried about Atlas. If Chase joined, Atlas would be upset with him and probably lose control of his life.

Ajax looked towards Chase. "Hey, you coming," he said quietly

Chase looked up at him and quickly got on stage. He leaned over and whispered in Ajax's ear. "Sorry, I got lost in thought"

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Ajax asked sternly. "It's not to late to change your mind"

Chase nodded very quickly and almost immediately. "I'm sure I want to do this!" he exclaimed in a whisper.

Ajax looked back up at the crowd. Their eyes were filled with worry and slight impatience. "Sorry about that!" he apologized. "As I was saying, our friend here would like to join us and become our pack member but first" He paused. "Is there anyone here that believes that he shouldn't be here?"

Chase looked around the crowd worryingly. His chance of joining the pack was in the paws of the crowd. Anyone of them could easily say no to him, killing his chances pretty much zero to nothing. But no paw or voice sounded throughout the clearing. Chase exhaled deeply and began to relax.

"Very well," announced Ajax. He placed both paws on Chase's shoulders. "By the power vested in me, I declare Chase an official member of this pack and our family. Welcome home Chase!"

Cheers and howling filled the room. Its atmosphere bright, cheerful ad full of life. "Chase, Chase, Chase, Chase…," they cheered proudly

Everest had jumped up in stage with him. Her eyes were crying with joy and she hugged her mate. "I'm so proud of you, you have no idea how this makes me feel!" she cried proudly

Chase was crying too. His pride had completely been taken over by his happiness. "I can get a great idea about how you feel!" he exclaimed happily. But he sighed and took a deep breath. "But there is someone who needs to know about this," he explained giving Everest a kiss on the forehead before heading to the Healers den as quickly as possible.

When he got to the den, he noticed that it was empty. "Probably out celebrating with everyone else," he said to himself. He quickly ran into the recovery den and went to the makeshift emergency room. It had been cleaned up since Atlas's surgery and the Operating table had been replaced with a gurney. "Where the hell does this come from," Chase whispered to himself. He even tried looking around to see where something like that could be put. "I'll ask Marshall later," he told himself putting a reminder in his mind. The shepherd looked over at Atlas, his vitals strong but he looked so helpless.

Atlas was laying on his side with the gurney on a small incline, so he could be some what up right. The neck brace had been removed and his full size cast had been replaced. The wrappings around his chest were fresh. Atlas's body twitched and his paws would kick ever so slightly. He was dreaming! Occasionally he would give off a little whimper; clearly the dream wasn't working out for him.

Chase sensed this and got his front paws on the gurney. He put one paw on his friends shoulder and shook him gently. "Atlas, it's just a dream! It's not real." Atlas gasped awake causing Chase to jump away from the gurney; he wasn't expecting that. Atlas seemed alright but his eyes clearly showed that he wasn't.

Atlas was freaking out. His dream must have really spooked him. "What happened? Where are we?" he asked Chase. His voice was as strong as it was when they first came to Adventure Bay.

Chase was rather surprised. But he needed to reassure his friend that he was alright. "You were injured and Marshall fixed you up," he explained. "We are in the packs home right now, okay!"

Atlas nodded. "How did I get injured Chase?" His tone of voice was that of a confused child.

"You had gotten shot in the chest back in LA. That's why you have the wrappings on your chest"

Atlas held up his paw. "And this?" he asked confusingly

"Apparently, you punched a tree multiple times and you broke your paw," Chase explained. "Do you remember anything, buddy?"

Atlas shook his head. "Not really, I only get fragments but not everything."

"How far back do you remember?" Chase was hoping Atlas wasn't suffering from severe amnesia. He jumped up on the gurney and sat by his friend.

Atlas thought about it for a moment. "I remember all of my life up until the SWAT raid. Anything after that….," he waved his paws in the air. "Everything is just….fragments!"

"What fragments are you getting?" asked Chase curiously. "I'll help fill in the blanks so tell me what you know"

"I remember you asking me to come with you to Adventure Bay," he stated. He paused. "Then I remember arriving at the lookout, you go missing, I go look for you with the others and I wake up with you asking me questions. That's all I know," he shrugged, clearly suffering from amnesia.

This made Chase happy but he didn't show it because Atlas didn't remember Chase getting mad at him about his broken ribs. Chase gave his friend a pat on the back. "Let me fill in the blanks," said Chase. "Let me just sum up the SWAT raid for you. We came under heavy fire, we jumped out of the moving van, the van crashed, a team member died and the bad guy got away. That about sums up what happened." He explained briefly. "Oh and that is when you got your chest injuries," he added knowing he had missed that crucial part.

"I see," replied Atlas but gave a slightly sad face. "Who died?"

Chase sucked down a big gulp and sighed. "It was Marcus Dodds, the rookie. He took a shot to the neck and bled out before we could do anything." Chase started to tear up as he was the one who was with Dodds before he died. But the fragment filling had to go on. "So, I get suspended temporarily, I ask you to come with me on this trip, we get on the plane and we drive to the lookout once we land." He took a deep breath and tried to recollect what happened next. "You know what happens up until you come looking for me with the others, right?"

"I got a basic idea, so yes I do know," responded Atlas with a quick nod. "What happens here with this wolf pack?"

"Well, you arrive and you immediately start having problems with your injuries," Chase explains quickly. "So, the wolves Healers get you fixed up temporarily but you continue to have problems. Lucky for us, Marshall shows up and operates on you." Chase stopped saying anymore and thought about how to word the next bit of memory.

"What happened next Chase?" asked Atlas sternly. "What are you not telling me?" His voice was getting annoyed and irritated.

"You…umm…you," he scratched the back of his head. How was he going to explain this? He didn't want to lie to Atlas but he didn't want to hurt his feelings either.

"What happened Chase?" begged Atlas. "Please tell me"

"You went into a coma," lied Chase. He began to get emotional to get Atlas to believe it. "I was scared that you might not wake up, but you did and that is all that matters."

Atlas understood. "You feared for your friend. I can respect that."

"But there is one important thing I need you to know," added Chase. He was going to spill the beans on him joining the pack. "It's about you going home…..alone."

Atlas shook his head in confusion. "What do you mean, alone, aren't you coming home with me?

Chase couldn't keep this secret from him forever. "I'm staying here with the pack," he mumbled. "I'm not coming home with you."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Atlas. "When did this nonsense come up? And Why?" Atlas was determined to get an answer even if it meant putting Chase on the ground if her had to.

"I found Everest, bro," he explained. "She's here right now and I have two children with her. I can't leave her, especially after this long." He whimpered and whined knowing he had just taken his friends heart and dropped an anvil on it. "I'm sorry but I've already made my decision"

Atlas looked at Chase with the saddest look he could pull off. "So that's it, huh. You are going to throw away your life because you found your mate. What about me, bro? Did I come up in conversation when you made this decision?"

Chase looked at Atlas deeply. "Yes, you were brought up in conversation with the pack leader himself. He said that since you and I are similar in many ways, that you could join if you wanted to!" he explained trying to not make the situation worse

Too Late!

Atlas was furious with his friend. "So you are telling me that not only you want to throw away your life but you want me to throw away mine as well." Atlas slapped his forehead. "I have family back home that would miss me. So do you" This really got Chase's attention. "Do you want them to know that their son and brother quit the force to join a pack of wolves. You know how disgraced your family would be?"

Chase too was getting unnerved. "Last I checked, my family loved me for who I was, not for what I do for a living!" he spat. "You're scared that I might hurt myself out here, is that the case?" He stared at Atlas seriously. The black shepherd had his head drooped in shame. "Because last I checked, I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself and there is nothing you can do to stop me"

Atlas was deeply and openly crying. Tears made his bed sheets wet and his fur turned a darker shade of black. He had lost his partner, his brother and his friend all at once because they wanted to throw their entire life away and start somewhere else. "You are right, I can't stop you from doing this" he whimpered. "But there is something I can do," he said reaching for his life-support.

Chase instantly stopped him and grabbed his paw. "So what you are going to kill yourself because of my decision." He pinned his friend to the gurney and held him tightly. "I'm sorry but I can't let you do that."

Atlas sniffed and let out a small whine. "What does it matter?" he cried. "Without you, I'm dead anyway"

Chase was shocked at how Atlas was acting. He was willing to die because he was going to lose a friend in his life. Chase decided that talking wasn't the solution so instead he pulled Atlas up and hugged him tightly. Atlas returned the hug and began to cry deeply into Chase's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, buddy," mumbled Chase. "But it us something that I want to do. And there is something that you should know." He didn't wait for a response. "I want you to join with me in this new life"

Atlas let go of Chase and stared at him. "W-why?" Atlas was as confused as he was young. "What makes you say that?"

"I think you have what it takes and we work great together" Chase took in a deep breath before asking the big question. "So, do you want to join me in this new life?"

Atlas tried to say something but nothing came out. Words were not being produced because of his reaction to the question. It was a big commitment that we would have to undergo. He would have to quit his job and learn to live off the land. A new life could be a game changer!

Chase was growing slightly impatient. "Well, what do you want to do?"

Atlas looked at Chase and smiled. "I think I want to…..," he clutched his chest tightly. "I want….to….," and he collapsed onto the ground. His body was shaking and his breathing was labored.

Chase jumped down and was at his friends side. He didn't know what was happening. The medical field wasn't familiar to him, it was like trying to chop a tree down with a plastic spoon; there was no way to do it.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE!" he began to think wildly until one name came to mind. "MARSHALL! I NEED YOU!"

Atlas suddenly just stopped shaking and his breathing began to sound normal. But as Chase listened at Atlas's breaths, they became shorter and more distant apart. He had his ears right up against Atlas's chest and he found no rise or fall. His head instinctively looked at the machine Atlas was hooked up to!

Atlas was flat lining and Chase watched as his friends heart rate began to drop until it was no more and Chase felt the life in his paws fade away until it was no more.

All Chase could do was talk to his now deceased friend. "Atlas," he cried softly. "I….I'm so…..sorry! It's all my fault. If I hadn't invited you along, you wouldn't be in this situation!" He didn't hear the faint beep sound. "I hope you can forgive me for the pain I put you through…..," he hugged his friends body tightly. "I love you, Atlas!"

BEEP!...BEEP!...BEEP!

His ears perked at the new sound and looked around until his eyes stopped on the machine. Chase's eyes were blurry from the weeping but when they finally cleared up, Chase was overjoyed at the sight he was seeing. The beeping was from the heart rate monitor. Chase looked down at Atlas and saw the faint rise and fall of his chest. He knew that his friend was in bad shape but there was one thing for certain:

Atlas was alive!

 **How was that for a Chapter 15? I hoped you guys liked this chapter. I sure did and I read it multiple times and I loved it each time. This chapter is actually my biggest one yet: 6,000+ words. That is an amazing accomplishment that I, shockingly, wasn't trying to go for. I actually tried to stop at 5000 but I wasn't even done with the chapter so I just kept going. Anyway, you know the drill, NEW CHAPTER NEW QUESTIONS**

 **What do you like most about this story?**

 **What was your favorite story idea? (Refer to Story Idea's Chapter)**

 **What makes my story unique compared to other stories?**

 **(IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE THE POLL ON MY PAGE, PLEASE DO IT! IT HELPS ME OUT A LOT BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T INTEREST YOU)**

 **Anyway that's all I got for you guys! Expect the next chapter out sometime next week. I want to push out a chapter at least once a week. But don't pester me about when the next chapter is gonna be out!**

 **Thanks for reading my story and I will see you all later**

 **Atlas out!**


	16. Chapter 16

**You are all probably some of the nicest people that I have ever gotten the chance to share my content with! Your comments make me melt like a snowman in the summer. If you hadn't show support for me and this story, I would have abandoned this story long ago. So I thank you all dearly for the support, it means a lot to me.**

 **Also, the poll on my author page has not been used, as far as I know. So if you all could take thirty seconds to answer the poll it would do me wonders. But to make the decision less confusing, seek out the Story Ideas Chapter in Bring Her Home. There you will find a rough cut summary of the story ideas.**

 **And I also appreciate the few of you that answer the few questions that I have at the end of my chapters. It helps me get more in touch with you guys and gals. I like to read your responses and if I like a response about how I should continue my story, I try and implement it into the story. The whole Chase and Atlas conversation was actually a suggestion from a guest; who I really wish to thank for the idea. It was a really good idea! So whoever that guest is, I have a huge thanks and respect for. Your ideas have the potential of making great stories. Give it a shot, you might like it!**

 **Anyway, Thanks for sticking with me this far and I hope you guys hang around until the end. Lets get to it then.**

 **!WELCOME TO CHAPTER 16 OF BRING HER HOME!  
**

* * *

Chase refused to leave Atlas's side. The near death experience he had witnessed had been to much for him to comprehend. He had nearly lost his best friend and the last thing they would have done was pretty much fight. That was not what Chase wanted to do with his friend. He thought that his friend would have been a little more accepting of his decision. But that was reality and it nearly cost Atlas his life.

Marshall had been returning with Sylvia from the celebration when he heard Chase's cries for help. Almost immediately, he was beside Chase and began to examine Atlas. Marshall's diagnosis for Atlas was severe shortness of breath where the body literally shuts down and dies temporarily. It was extremely rare in humans but with severely injured dogs it was more common though the chances of it happening again was very low. "Trust me, he should be fine now. Its like a one in a million chance of it happening again"

"But what if it does happen to him again?" argued Chase. He never liked arguing with Marshall. The two had grown up as brothers and they spent every chance they could with one another; especially when they were young. "What if the next one actually kills him permanently?"

That was the question that was flying through Chase's head.

Marshall tried his best to reassure his best friend. "I promise you that it won't happen again." He watched Sylvia walk over to them. Her facial expression was in regret and sadness. She was feeling sorry for something. "Sylvia, are you okay?"

She didn't even flinch or look at him. She seem to freeze in her tracks. "It's all my fault!" She whispered

"What's your fault Sylvia?" asked Marshall worryingly. "Did you do something wrong?"

She nodded in response and pointed at Atlas's broken paw. "I did that to him. I broke him and he is here because of me!"

"How did you break his arm Sylvia?" asked Chase curiously his tail twitching irritably. He was trying his best to stay calm. If she was one of the few that injured his friend, he was going to go on a rampage.

"I made him angry and he stomped off and began to attack a tree," she confessed sadly. "If I had of kept my smart mouth closed, he wouldn't have most of the injuries he has now."

Marshall looked at Chase worryingly. The two dogs nodded because they had both figured out the reason for her sadness. She was living in a world of regret; she felt as though everything that happened to Atlas was because of her. It made her depressed and under the impression that no one would forgive her of her sins. Marshall walked up to her and held her tightly. "You've no right to blame yourself for all his injuries. You may have caused the broken paw but you didn't inflict the actual damage. He did it to himself"

"But it shouldn't have happened all together," she countered with a sniff. "I managed to push all the right buttons to get him pissed off. I said something that I regretted the moment I said it."

"What did you say?" asked Chase, a growl brewing up in his throat. He was ready to spit fire like a dragon.

Sylvia hesitated! She didn't know what Chase's reaction was going to be; but Marshall caught onto it like a fire in the dry season.

The dally had caught wind of what Chase was probably going to do and shielded Sylvia. He was ready in case Chase decided to strike her down and hurt her. The PAW Patrol instinct was on high alert and ready to rescue the victims.

Chase watched Marshall in front of him. "What's your problem?" demanded Chase. "Think I might hurt her," he sneered sarcastically.

Marshall growled at Chase and started to bare his teeth. He was serious about protecting Sylvia. It was in his DNA. "No matter what she says, you will not hurt her. You here me?" But he also wanted know what Sylvia said to Atlas. He looked back at her and asked "What did you say to Atlas?"

She leaned up and whispered in Marshall's ear; careful to not be loud enough for Chase to hear. She took a deep breath and said something that no cop should have to hear in their career. "I practically called him a dirty cop"

Marshall inhaled deeply and sighed. He looked towards Chase and shook his head; he didn't want Chase to know what she just said.

Sylvia felt and looked defeated. She had an influence in putting Atlas on that table. If she had of kept her tongue and been a lot nicer, Atlas probably wouldn't be in predicament he was currently in. The Belgian Sheepdog walked up to the gurney and put two paws on it, where she could see Atlas better. She began to cry at how frail and delicate he looked. Even though he was only a few weeks from being fully recovered. It would have been less but the recent near death experience gave a major setback. She got her muzzle close to Atlas's head and began to whisper into his ear.

"Atlas, it's me….Sylvia," she began, hoping he wouldn't wake up on her. "I'm here right now a…..apologizing about w-what I said to you….," she was struggling with words as this moment was hard on her. She swallowed as much sadness as she could muster. "it was….wrong of me to say what I said and I regret it." She placed a paw on his chest, showing that she was truly sorry. A tear rolled down her cheek and fell onto the gurney. "I hope that you can truly forgive me but I understand if you don't….." she stopped when she felt something on her paw. She looked down at it to see a paw touching hers.

It was Atlas's paw!

Atlas had heard what she said and weakly took her paw in his own. He was crying at her words and felt truly sorry for her. He had overreacted at her and that was wrong of him to do. It is what keeps racing through his head the moment something reminds of the confrontation. Atlas nearly killed her and here she was forgiving him for it. "I j-just want y-you to…know that I for-forgive you for your comment," he gulped and sniffed his nose; he was getting very emotional. "I shouldn't h-have attacked you l-like I did. It hurts me to think of what I did to you. I regret it!" He made one huge gulp of sadness and was silent.

Chase and Marshall walked up to the two dogs and stood opposite of Sylvia to the gurney. Chase hadn't even heard anything they had said so he brought up a different topic. "Hey, buddy, How are you feeling?" he asked quietly. "You gave us quite a scare." Chase took his friends other paw, which was consumed in a cast, and squeezed it tightly.

"I'm feeling better," he sniffed, his emotions still shattered. "I'm sorry that happened, I didn't mean to scare you"

Marshall, too, was getting a little emotional. His best friends best friend had nearly died. It would have shattered Chase into a million pieces, changing him forever. But the heavens had taken precaution at making sure that didn't happen. Chase and Atlas had a special bond as powerful as him and Chase growing up. The kind of bond where the loss of one could destroy the other. He began to check Atlas's vitals. "Are you felling nauseous, light headed, and or uncomfortable?" he asked sternly. He needed to make sure that Atlas could fully recover and be free of any sickness.

"No, I feel okay!" Atlas responded kind of weakly. "but I feel extremely weak, is that a problem?"

Marshall shook his head. "No, you should be alright," he said giving Atlas a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You just need time to…..," he waved his paw in a circular motion; he was trying to phrase it so it sounded positive. "Recharge your batteries, that's what I was trying to say," he laughed.

Everyone else gave a good chuckle, even Atlas. The black shepherd was actually laughing; weakly but he was enjoying himself. Sylvia gave Atlas one final squeeze of her paw before leaving the cave. She was missing the fresh air in the hub clearing. At the moment she walked out of the cave, Zoe replaced her and had a few large leaves dangling from her mouth.

Zoe placed the leaves on a nearby table. "Hey, how's are friend feeling?" she asked Atlas. "Feeling better I hope." She began to unwrap the leaves, revealing a wide variety of smaller leaves and petals. Instinctively, as a healer, she began to sort them into neat piles and she was very fast at it. It wasn't even thirty seconds later, after she unwrapped the leaves, that she already had them sorted. "Someone should have a record for how fast I can sort these," she giggled, grabbing a stray petal and placing it in the correct pile. "I'm getting faster each time I do it"

Marshall stepped up to the table, surveying the multiple leaves and petals. He even tried grabbing one from one of the piles but a deep growl from Zoe change his mind. "What are all these for?" He asked moving his paw over all the piles in a sweeping motion.

She pointed to one of the piles. "That is comfrey. It's good for broken bones." She pointed at another pile. "That's lamb's ear. It will help him regain his strength." Her paw floated over to another pile. "These are poppy seeds. They can help relax him and make him sleep." Her voice was growing impatient; she wasn't enjoying the lecture on the herbs she had. Event though she had like three more piles left to introduce. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to give these herbs to him to make sure he heals fully."

That last part made Marshall wince. "Do you not trust my medical skills?" he asked curiously.

Zoe sighed. "I'm sorry, my friend, but I am not familiar with your advanced skills. I just want him…," she said pointing at Atlas. "To get the maximum amount of care he can."

Chase had an argument ready for her. "We aren't familiar with your medical skills. And we know from experience that it works very good."

But Zoe was already prepared for that comment. "Let me ask you this!" she countered. "Has your field of practice ever ended in the death of the victim?" She smirked at them; she had won and she knew it. "Because I've been doing this for a long time and I have not lost a single life under my control as Head Healer."

Marshall knew she had this argument in the bag so there was no point in lying to her. He nodded. "Yes, it has," he said dejectedly. Marshall admired her for her persistence and readiness to anything they asked her. "So please proceed with what you need to do," he said holding up a paw; signaling her to begin as she pleased.

She shook her head. "I'll begin when you guys leave," she said, ignoring the complaints from the Dally and Chase. "When it comes to recovering, I prefer to work with my patients one on one." She stared down the pair of dejected faces and felt some pity. ""I'm sorry but like you said Chase." The Shepherds mood changed instantaneously. "You're not familiar with my field of practice, so I have no choice but too tell you to simply, piss off."

Chase and Marshall gasped. She had just used Chase's words against both of them. As small as Zoe was, she packed a lot of firepower. She had the brains of a chimp and the fierceness of a lion. It could make even the toughest of dogs tremble in fear; enough to wet themselves. But they didn't argue as they crept out of the cave feeling like puppies getting put in timeout. That left only Atlas and Zoe.

* * *

Zoe sighed in relief. "Thank god!" she exclaimed. "I thought that they wouldn't leave."

Atlas just shrugged. "They are worried about me. They have the compassion for helping an injured friend. I'm surprised you wanted them to leave!" To Atlas, that was odd.

Normally a nurse at a human hospital would never ask other nurses to leave. They would embrace help with open arms. But Zoe was the exact opposite of that. She preferred to work with a recovering patient alone. Not that Sampson nor Drake weren't good help but things were much easier for her if she helped a patient alone.

Zoe began to look Atlas up and down to make sure nothing new or abnormal was popping up. She began to ask questions related to Marshall's. But these ones were more set towards his actual injuries. "Are you feeling any stiffness in your neck, chest, or paw?" She was very stern as she was with every patient.

Atlas nodded. "I can feel lots of stiffness mainly in my chest and my arm but my neck seems to be just fine." The cast was the reason for stiffness in his arm. As for the stiffness in his chest, that was from the surgery. "Is that a bad thing or would it be normal in my case?" He was worried that the stiffness could be bad for his recovery yet he still moved into a sitting position.

Zoe shook her head. "No, you should be just fine," she said with a smile as she continued her check up

There was a long and awkward silence between them. It made Atlas very uncomfortable so he decided to break that silence with friendly conversation. But he remembered something Chase brought up before the near death experience.

"Can I ask you something?" Atlas had the very important topic on his mind and he had to get it off his chest. "It's very important!"

Zoe didn't even stop what she was doing; which was preparing poultices. "Sure, what do you have to tell me?" she said as she grinded petals. The grinding created a form of juices, which would be easier to intake, rather than a solid.

Atlas paused; he didn't know how to word his question properly. If it was worded right then he would be okay with the outcome. On the other paw, if it were to be worded wrong it could affect his influence to one side or the other.

Zoe looked at him curiously. "Weren't you going to ask me something?" Her caring eyes were patient and friendly. She could easily wait forever until he asked his question. "If you don't want to tell me now, that's fine?"

Atlas stomped a paw on the gurney. "No, this is something that has to be told now!" He exclaimed. His mind had raced to create a properly worded form of his question; he was ready. The determination in his eyes showed that. "What would be your opinion on an outsider joining this pack?" He knew it was best to try and be innocent about it. It was in his best interest that she didn't catch on to what he was trying to do.

Zoe just shrugged. "It really all depends honestly," she said blankly. It was not her decision on who could and who couldn't join the pack. But she couldn't just throw Atlas's question directly off a cliff, she may as well have some sort of interest in it.

"On what?" asked Atlas, blank but curious. "What does it depend on?"

Zoe wanted to try and explain it in a way that he would easily understand. And then it hit her; she had to bring up a related topic about his job. "You are a police officer correct?" She asked, changing the subject. She needed to make sure or else her idea wouldn't work.

"Yes," he responded slowly, he wasn't sure where this was going. "Why do you ask?"

"I just was curious that's all." She stopped her grinding process and jumped up on the gurney beside Atlas. "So, tell me about this job of yours. Is it hard?"

"It can get hard. It all really depends on the situation"

Zoe's eyes lit up in curiosity. "What kind of situations?"

Atlas watched as the young wolf's eyes filled with interest. It was incredible to see her have a spark of interest for the outside world beyond the park. But explaining it so that it would make sense to her was a different story. "Okay, I'm going to try and explain a situation to you as best I can. Because I'm guessing you aren't to familiar with man-made objects, correct?"

"You are correct," she responded curtly and clearly unoffended. She placed a paw in the air, signaling him to proceed. "Please proceed"

"Okay so lets say a suspect has a person held hostage in a convenience store." He already had the image in his head. "And the police have no way of getting into building because the suspect has put traps on all the possible entries. How do you get in?" He was trying this scenario on her because he too once had to go through something similar to it.

Zoe seemed to go into full tactical mode. Her gaze turned serious as though she was a cop on the scene. Her body language was practically mimicking a member of the SWAT team. She tried hard to think of any way into the building but she came up empty paws. "You got me!" she surrendered. "How do you do it?"

Atlas was kind of impressed for her attempt at it. He would of thought that she would have immediately asked him how to do it. But she actually put some thought into it. "You make an entrance that wasn't there before!"

"You can do that!?" She exclaimed. "But what about the leader of the store? Do they get a say in that?"

"They understand that we have to do what we have to do. Even if it means busting down a wall or two. Or in my case, three," he said reminiscing the event.

"Why three walls instead of just one?" she asked with puzzled look. "Aren't the other two unnecessary?"

Atlas shook his head. "You might say that but in this case it was strategic," he stated but her look got even more confused. "Let me explain it to you!" He quickly added, making Zoe's confused look dim down slightly. "So first, the topic: Why the, possibly, unnecessary extra entrances?" And the wonderful answer is because it's to confuse the guy out of his mind" Her face began to show she understood but confusion still lingered. "If he has multiple walls being blown down around him, BAM BAM BAM, then he has to try and focus on all those new entrances making him easier to take down." The confusion had completely died from Zoe's face and was replaced with total understanding.

"So you do it to make him confused?" she asked rhetorically. "But what if that makes him more violent? Wouldn't that make him more violent?"

Atlas was way ahead of her with the answer. "We don't use this tactic immediately or all the time?" He answered honestly. "We only use it as a last resort, when all negotiations have failed!"

"I see!" she said with a nod. "Your job is pretty cool"

"Thanks, its been one of the highlights of my life!" he explained with a smirk.

Zoe knew she had to get to Atlas's question; which he asked earlier. "So when you want to become a cop, how does one do that?"

"They have an academy that one, like myself, has to go to," he explained. "There, you would go through multiple training sessions and a lot of lectures. And in the end, if you are good enough, you become a police officer." He sensed interest in her question as well. "Interested?"

Zoe froze momentarily and shook her head violently. "No way!" she snapped. "I couldn't throw this life away for another one." She seemed to be very irritated with his question but she knew better than to get mad at him; he was only a patient. "Sorry, that was uncalled for!"

"I understand," he said placing a paw on hers. "You wouldn't do something that would change your life drastically."

"But I still want to answer your question earlier and not be biased about it." That reaction had kind of exposed her opinion on strangers joining the pack. But now that she had an idea on how she was going to explain her answer. "Lets say that I am at this academy that you trained at." She began to explain to him her answer. "What traits would I have to show to become recognized among all the other recruits?"

Atlas pondered over how to respond; it was a very thought out question but a tricky one as well. He never usually thought about it, he just did it. "I guess it has something to do with the overall character of the individual. Some are smart but not too strong and vice versa. Some would prefer going in guns blazing over negotiating and vice versa. There are other but it would take to long to explain."

"Where do you stand in what you have told me?" That was her clinching question. The one that helped him get the answer for his question.

"To be honest, I find that I don't want anyone to die in good gone bad situations but I'm relentless when the situation goes south. So I guess I like to be smart about how I want to take down the suspect but strong enough to make it happen. I want to try and negotiate my way out of the situation but I will go guns blazing if the situation turns drastic." He sighed. "Really what I am saying is that I am a in-between type of officer"

Zoe nodded approval; that is what she wanted to see in a stranger. "Then there is my answer. Exactly how you said it and everything." She smiled at him proudly. "We need the strangers to be as brutal as possible but we also need them to know remorse. We don't need the all bite no bark. We need the all bark all bite type." She stared deeply into Atlas's eyes, admiring how green they were. "We need individuals like you."

This is exactly what he wanted to hear. Atlas celebrated a silent victory in his mind and began to smile. But what he said would help him make his final decision. "What would you do if I said I wanted to join?"

Zoe locked her body and continued to stare at Atlas. Her pupils expanded and her heart was pumping. "What do you mean join? Don't you want to continue being a cop?" This made her understand why he asked his question earlier; he wanted her approval. And it was working but she didn't let it show. Just to make sure she didn't show it, she jumped off the gurney and returned to her herbs and medicines. She even let her fur fluff out to over-exaggerate the situation.

Atlas was already contradicting his clearly irrelevant decision to join the pack. But her opinion could change that. "I know that I'd be throwing away my last few years as a cop but I like the idea of change." He didn't let her get a chance to respond and slowly jumped off the gurney. He shivered from the cold floor of the make-shift hospital room but it made the soreness in his legs disappear. Atlas began to limp slowly around the room and winced a few times. "So I want to join and help find a new part of me that didn't originally exist; my wild side. I want to wake up every morning to pack mates and live in the most sophisticated society that I've seen. I don't want to live in a city where the streets turn into battlefields. Really what I am saying is that I want to start a new life with a new family." He stared at her deeply even though she had her back turned. "I already see you as family. You feel like a sister to me."

This caused her to turn instantly. "You really mean that!" she responded with a whisper. Her eyes turned from shocked to caring. "In that case, I see you as a brother," she hugged him tightly. "My sweet and kind older brother." That made her freeze. What if he is younger than me? It had to be asked. "How old are you?"

Atlas smiled at her and let out a little laugh. "I am almost six in dog years. In human years I would be…..about forty maybe forty one. Math isn't one of my strongest skills." He knew it was rude to ask women their age but it was only fair in this case. "How old are you?"

She let out a sigh of relief. "I am four, nearly five," she responded instantly. She wasn't familiar with the rude questions men could ask a lady. "How old is that in human years?"

"I think that would be around thirty-three maybe thirty four. Like I said about math. Not my strong suit," he said with a chuckle.

Zoe laughed at him because she didn't know much math but she knew more than he did clearly. Being a Healer had its benefits. But she had to show her approval for him wanting to join. "Well, if Ajax would allow it then I believe that….," she pause as though she was doubting her decision.

Atlas grew slightly worried. What was she going to say before she abruptly stopped? Was it bad? "You exactly that, what exactly?" he asked with a serious and worried tone.

She looked into eyes and saw the growing sadness. She was breaking him by not finishing her sentence. It wasn't fair of him to be cut off like that. He didn't deserve that kind of treatment. So she started to smile but she decided to play with him for a little bit. "You really want to know what I was going to say, huh?"

The black shepherds tail began to wag violently. "Yes! Yes, I do!" he pleaded. "Tell me please?" he begged

Zoe made her way past him and looked back at him. "You're going to have to catch me first," she said with a wiggle of the rump before taking off into the main healing den.

"Hey, that's not fair!" he cried as he tried to run after her. The chest and cast were proving that to be difficult to run with. But he had an idea. He quickly found a hiding spot near the entrance to the main den and he snuggled in; the ambush was set. Now all he had to do was get her back to him. He took in a few deep breaths and let out a gut-wrenching scream; Loud enough to shake the whole forest! "Owww, the pain, it hurts!" he cried with a snicker. "I can't feel my tail!" he added to make her want to return.

The healer instincts were proving to great to ignore and Zoe jumped into the recovery den only to be pummeled to the ground and pinned. She looked up at her attacker to find it was Atlas. He was just fine! "What is this trickery? I thought you were hurt!" She seemed very serious and ticked off.

"Turns out you aren't the only one with an unfair advantage!" he laughed but continued to keep her pinned on the ground. "And by the looks of the situation we are in, you aren't going anywhere so answer me this one question: Should I join the pack or not?"

Zoe looked into his eyes and smiled. She wanted him to join the pack but she didn't know how to say it to him. But she thought something that she might regret and laughed. "Is this an answer you were looking for?" she asked as she did the unthinkable.

She leaned up to Atlas's muzzle and kissed him deeply, sealing her position on the question.

Little did she know a third set of eyes were watching them.

* * *

 **How's that for a chapter? It was good, huh? I wanted a way to continue this story in a way that added a little more drama. Who's eyes were those? They could be anybody's! But I think with your knowledge of the story, you might have already figured out who it is. But keep it to yourself as all will be revealed in the next chapter. You should understand my way of ending these chapters. QUESTION'S QUESTION'S QUESTION'S and here they are:**

 **What is the thing about my story that makes it stand out among others?**

 **What is your favorite pairing/pairings?**

 **Who is the real savage: Atlas or Zoe?**

 **Do you like the fact that this chapter focused on someone other than Chase?**

 **You might be thinking "ATLAS, DIDN'T YOU ALREADY ASK THE FIRST QUESTION IN THE LAST CHAPTER". Yes, I did and there is a good explanation for it. I didn't find that the question was kind of a throw in. So I decided to repeat it in this chapter. I promise you won't see it in this story again! Anyway, I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. And I know I said sometime next week but I had the free time so I got it done. So expect a chapter some time THIS WEEK.**

 **DO THE POLL ON MY AUTHOR PAGE(JUST INCASE YOU FORGOT ABOUT IT)**

 **Thanks again for all the support and I will see you all next time**

 **Atlas out!**


	17. Chapter 17

**MY VIWERS, I HAVE SOME BAD NEWS THAT NEEDS TO BE SHARED! THIS STORY IS COMING TO A CLOSE.**

 **I know you are probably thinking, "Why are you doing this! This story is great!" But I want to be able to write a sequel to this story. If I don't have the content then I can't write the story. So I decided recently to bring this story to a close because it actually doesn't hurt me to end this story. This story has far exceeded my expectations. It made over 5,000 views and has over 50 reviews and comments. To me, that is a great story.**

 **You are also probably wondering how many chapters are left in this story? The answer to that is at most of four more chapters left. I won't spoil what I plan to do with those chapters at all.**

 **Oh this chapter takes place a few weeks after last chapter. Just had to get that out there before I caused any confusion to you guys.**

 **I don't have anything else to share with you, so let's get right into it**

 **WELCOOME TO CHAPTER 17 OF BRING HER HOME!**

* * *

It had been a few weeks since Chase joined the pack. He was already getting recognized for his outstanding skills and abilities. He was already leading patrols and hunting parties. And that was just the beginning. Although he had never been in an actual skirmish with other wolves, he was already in the development of becoming a great fighter. When ever Chase was training, especially in fighting, others would literally race over to him either to train or try to get a shot at taking him down; not one wolf ever came close to getting him down.

When Chase wasn't patrolling or training, he was spending his time with Atlas. Even though he was given a clean bill of health from Zoe, he still had to stay in the Healers den for a little while longer. Atlas surprised everyone when he announced his request to join the pack and Ajax accepted him. Chase had also surprised to hear that Marshall had left in the middle of the night; leaving no form of note or message for him. But Marshall didn't leave without giving some sort of aid.

Following the weeks, Marshall had trained all the Healers on how to use the makeshift operating room; which had been gifted to them. He also had it moved into an empty cave across the hall from the healers den. "You might have very good skills with plants but with a machine like this, you can get the job done faster," he had explained them. Zoe and Drake were very optimistic about the idea of the box but Sampson had some skepticism.

"What are we supposed to if it breaks down in a way?" he argued, still very opposed to the idea. "You might notice that we aren't to familiar with things like these."

Now the optimistic duo, Zoe and Drake, were starting to doubt Marshall's idea but Drake kept his mouth shut. "I know you probably have a reason for giving this to us but," she implied as she pick up a syringe off the table and showed it to her colleagues. "We don't know how to use these things? Let alone half of this advanced stuff, whatever the hell they are called."

Marshall let out a pained sigh as if he already failed them. But he wasn't a quitter, he never was. He looked at the three healers giving them a hard stare. "That is why I plan to train you all how to use this," he reached into a drawer near him and pulled out a book. The book was about an inch thick and contained information about the box and it's maintenance. "This book will have all the details about everything this box has," he tossed the book to Drake who looked through a few pages.

Drake stared confusingly through the book and passed it to Sampson, who looked through the pages. "Very generous of you but…..we don't know how to read," he countered. "And if we did, we still wouldn't understand anything in there," he fretted, pointing at the book which was now in Zoe's paws.

Marshall only laughed his response as if Drake said something stupid.

"What's so funny?" demanded Zoe, defending her friend.

"Oh it is just that you are correct and wrong at the same time!" he exclaimed, letting out a little giggle. "You want to know why?"

"Why?" chimed Sampson willingly. He just wanted answers.

"You have two new members that speak and read English fluently," he stated. "and one understands basic medical equipment as well as I do."

Zoe smirked as she realized who he was talking about. "Chase and Atlas," she said with understanding.

Marshall nodded and said nothing

Zoe looked at Drake and Sampson who had slightly more optimistic faces. "When do we start training?" she asked Marshall

"Right now, lets first go over the basics of this room," he said. Everyone sighed as thought they were in classroom. "Oh we are going to have so much fun," whispered Marshall.

Let the training begin…..

* * *

Now the Healers were practically experts in the makeshift operating room. They had been very eager to learn once Marshall broke their slightly sarcastic attitudes towards everything. And boy did they have the thirst for learning. Marshall didn't have to repeat anything to them but he did have them do a lot of practice sessions to make sure they had it down. He trained them everything from infections to internal bleeding. He made sure he spent at least on internal bleeding as it could be fatal if not dealt with properly.

Along with the training, he also showed off the many special features of the box. Along with the shift-shaping operating table/gurney, he showed them the regenerating supply of materials. It only regenerated little things like: gauze, stiches, bandages and cleaning materials. It also had a device that could take ordinary plants and turn them into liquid medicines; injectable and consumable.

How it worked was the device would take the plant and break it down into a liquid. Then it was cleaned up so that it was a solution; it is when the particles are all blended in one and there are no little solid bits in it. Finally, the liquid is infused with antibiotics and other liquids to make the medicine super effective.

The last night of training, Marshall officially handed the rains over to Zoe and her colleagues and wished them the best of with future medical endeavors. He told them how impressed and proud he was of them for their cooperation and hard work. But what he didn't tell them was that he was leaving that same night.

* * *

Atlas was the only one left in the recovery den. Jax had been given a clean bill of health and left the den a few days ago. Sylvia had left with Marshall in the middle of the night. But Atlas still had to stay in the den.

As happy as Atlas was to finally be all healed up, he wasn't happy to have to stay in the Healers den longer. But a part of him knew why it was best for him to stay there; Zoe had explained it to him. If he worked his paw and chest too hard, he could make his stay in the Healers den much longer. And so he waited as patiently as he could but he always had the urge to leave the den whenever he could. He heard a sound and his ears perked. His green eyes set upon the entrance of the recovery den and he watched the beautiful Zoe walk through it towards him.

She smiled when she noticed him looking at her. "How are you feeling?" she asked as she began to give him a routine check-up.

"I'm fine," he reassured, grabbing her paw. "You don't have to do this all the time, you know that right?" As much as he liked seeing her, he often grew irritated of the constant check-ups; sometimes a check-up every hour. "You'll exhaust yourself too much. You know as best as I do that we don't need you to be exhausted."

"I know," she confessed. "It's just…I have grown closer to you than I have with anyone else." Her eyes began to water and a small tear rode down her cheek on to the stone floor. "I love you," she whispered.

Atlas froze at her words. "What did you say?" he croaked. He wanted to make sure that she said what he heard.

Zoe got closer to him and looked him in his handsome green eyes. She leaned forward slowly and planted a kiss on his lips before she immediately rushed out of the cave, leaving Atlas in wonder and confusion.

 _She does love me!_ He thought.

But he couldn't let her suffer, if he couldn't return his love for her; which he had only recently began to discover. He didn't know how or why he loved her but he had to show her that he cared for her. His legs propelled him to his feet and he ran into the main den.

When he crossed the borders between the recovery den and the healers den, he collided with something large and furry. His body shook and he was knocked onto his back, where he hit his head on the hard floor.

THUD!

He groaned and moaned from the major headache he was feeling and held his head in his paws. But when Zoe popped into his head, he got up and looked down at the dog he had collided with. He froze when he saw who it was; someone he recognized.

It was Chase!

The German Shepherd was on the ground, moaning and groaning just like Atlas had. But he got up off the ground quicker than expected and growled at Atlas. But he relaxed once he realized it was Atlas. "Where are you going, buddy?" he asked with wince. His head was throbbing! "You hit me pretty hard there, so it must be important," he concluded

"It is," Atlas exclaimed he said looking around the den for Zoe but she was no where to be found. "Have you seen, Zoe?" he begged

Chase nodded and sat down, his head hurt like hell. "Yeah," he grunted pointing towards the exit. "I passed her when she left the den, she seemed pretty upset," he explained but a light bulb went off in his head and he stared at Atlas. "Did you do something to her?"

Atlas just stared at Chase. "I don't know if it what something I said or what I did!" He started to tear up and weep. "I just need to find her, do you know where she might have gone?"

Chase shook his head. "No but if I see her, I will tell her are looking for her." He began to leave the den.

"Where are you going?" shouted Atlas. "Aren't you going to help me find her?"

"Not at this very moment!" grumbled Chase, clutching his head in pain. "You gave me, probably, the worst headache I have ever had. I need an ibuprofen or something to kill this discomfort." He noticed the defeat in Atlas's eyes when he turned back. "I'm sorry but I won't be able to help you for a few hours."

"I'll help you!" said a new voice.

Atlas and Chase looked towards the direction the voice came from and both smiled when they saw who it was.

It was Chase's son, Jax!

Chase walked up to his son and hugged him. "Good to see you, son! How are you feeling?" He was hoping his son was feeling well enough to even be walking.

Jax just shrugged him off. "You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine," he reassured. He looked at Atlas. "So you need help looking for my friend, Zoe, huh?" he demanded.

Chase decided to and get his medicine. Little did he know that Jax had a secret that he was keeping from him. A secret that could ruin Jax's pack life for good.

Jax made sure his father was really gone before he looked at Atlas. "Why are you looking for her?" he interrogated, slamming a paw on the ground.

Atlas was shocked by the hostility coming from Jax. But he figured it might be that he was worried about his friend. "She left the recovery den a little upset," he explained. "I wanted to make sure she was okay" He didn't want to expose his crush for Zoe.

Jax nodded. "I see," he said, completely oblivious to Atlas's actual reason. "Well, let's see if we can find where she went, shall we?" He held out a paw signaling for Atlas to lead the way.

And the two dogs set off to find Zoe, hoping and praying that she was safe.

* * *

Zoe had run deep into the forest crying. Her emotions were shattered and her love was split. A part of her heart loved Jax and the other half loved Atlas. Both of them meant something to her and she couldn't decide who's heart was meant to be hers. So she decided to isolate herself from them and go to her special place, deep in the forest.

She had to be alone and this place could easily accomplish that for her. This place she found when she was a pup and given her size, she was the only one that could reach it. She tried to get there as fast as possible before anyone found her. Her eyes were like waterfalls as she bawled her eyes out but she knew she had to stay strong. The woods were a dangerous place.

As a pup, she had learned of all the horrors that woods contained and what they could do to full-sized wolves. Moose the size of boulders whose hooves could trample and kill you instantly. Mountain lions with big, sharp claws that would slice you open in a single swipe. And other wolves who could sneak up on you and drag you into the night, where no one would find you again.

How Zoe came to know of the special place was not so good!

Zoe had lost her mom to a mountain lion attack when she was only a pup. The night of her death had haunted her for the rest of her life but it didn't keep her from going to her special place, which she had named, _The Sanctuary_. But that place was a constant reminder of her mother and them day she lost her.

* * *

It was just a regular day out in the woods. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. Everything was perfect for Zoe and her mother. It was a special day for Zoe; it was her first time out in the forest. She had always dreamed about what it would be like to explore the vast woods that surrounded her but she was wary of all the potential dangers: lions, bears, moose and other wolves. But that didn't let her spirit down as it was a very special day. Zoe looked up at her mother who walked next to her.

Zoe's mother, Luna, was the same color as she was, ice white. Her blue eyes glowed with joy and happiness and her fur shined. Luna looked down at her daughter and nuzzled her. Her eyes began to water.

Zoe noticed this. "Mom, why are you crying?" Zoe didn't seemed worried, just confused.

Luna sniffed and looked her daughter in the eye. "Oh it's nothing," she said sweetly and gave her daughter a lick on the forehead. "I just can't believe how beautiful you are!"

Zoe blushed at her mom's praise. "I'm just glad to have a mother like you," she replied, giving her mom a hug.

Luna squeezed the tiny wolf in her clutches. She loved her child, like all mothers should, but there was something about Zoe that made her special. She was only half the size of any other pups, which made her a target for bullies.

But the bullies learned the hard way when they first picked on her. Zoe used her size to her advantage and beat the bullies senseless. It took Zoe's mother hours to wash the blood out of her fur. When asked why she did that she responded, "I'm making sure that all future battles are won before they happen." Archer didn't even punish her for her behavior but he praised her. Since then the bullies have left her alone.

So Luna had taken more time out of her day to make Zoe feel like she fit in, even though she was small. And that made the pair bond even closer to each other than most mothers and daughters. It was the kind of bond that not even in life nor in death could their bond ever be broken.

Luna let go of Zoe and looked around. She was trying to find a specific clearing that was safe for Zoe to run around in. Luna took a sniff from the air and stared off into the distance. "Come on, we are almost there," she said excitingly. "It should be right up ahead."

Zoe looked around her and saw nothing but the trail and trees. She couldn't see any clearings anywhere. "Does the clearing have a particular smell to it?" She let her sniffer try and smell it out but she wasn't familiar with all the unusual smells of the forest. So she came up empty.

Luna was impressed by her daughters attempt at smelling out the clearing. "Yes," she replied. "It has a sweet smell to it. Do you want to try smelling for it again?"

Zoe nodded and she let her sniffer get back to work. Her young nose quickly found a sweet smell near them. She pointed a paw in the direction of the smell. "I think it's over there," she said to Luna.

Luna knelt down and kissed Zoe's forehead. "Very good, job. Keep it up and you'll be able to smell even longer distances," she encouraged. She looked up at the sun; it was midday. "Come on, let's get there as quick as possible so we can spend the rest of the day there," she ordered whilst leading the way and Zoe following close behind.

The two wolves made there way through the trees until they came across the clearing. Zoe wowed at the size of it. It was double the size of the hub clearing back in the caves and there were sheer rock faces on all sides. In the center was a pond filled with crystal clear water and smooth rocks. Zoe and Luna approached the pond and each took a drink from the water.

Zoe instantly fell in love with this water. It was crisp, cool, and refreshing. She looked at her mother when she was finished. "Ahhh, that water tastes good." She looked around the clearing in awe. "How did you find this place?"

Luna laid down on a rock next to the pond and looked at Zoe, who had laid down next to her. "I found this place when I first met your father," she said proudly but regretfully. "This is where I fell in love with your father!" She stared out towards the water seeing her reflection and Zoe's reflection; they were a perfect match.

Zoe gagged in disgust. She was young and to her and others like her, love was gross and weird. "Love is gross, I don't want a mate ever," said Zoe in disgust.

Luna laughed at her daughter and nuzzled her fur. "You know when I was your age, I thought the same thing. Now look at me?" she asked rhetorically. "I have a wonderful life and most importantly, a beautiful, healthy daughter. My life couldn't be any more happy than it already is."

Zoe smiled at her mother and rest her head on her mothers paws. "Tell me about dad, what was he like?" She always asked this question because Luna was the only one who could share memories with her. But Zoe liked to always hear about her father. The kind of wolf he was, his personality and his love for Luna. A father that she would never live to meet.

Luna choked down a depressed cry as she remembered everything about her mate. He had died, before Zoe was born, to an accident that had occurred up in the mountains. "He was the greatest wolf that I had ever met in my entire life." She placed a paw on her daughters back and began to stroke her daughters fur. "You would have liked him very much. He was everything a mate could have asked for: kind, respectful, truthful, caring, brave and the whole nine yards." She felt her paws getting wet and looked down.

Zoe was very still but her eyes were pouring waterfalls. She was very quiet and contained when it came to her emotions but some things were just to overpowering. "Why did he have to die?" she begged.

Luna didn't know the best way to respond to her daughters question. "I don't know, sweetheart," she croaked before laying her head across Zoe's back. It always made Zoe feel more secure when she was upset. But sometimes the best thing to do was change the subject. "How about we play a game, huh?" she recommended.

Zoe's mood changed instantly and she jumped up and down. "I love games, what shall we play?" She looked around, trying to find something she could play with until she spotted something unusual in the bushes. "Mom, what's that?" she asked pointing towards the bush

Luna was by her daughters side immediately. "What's what?" she asked looking at her daughter. She saw Zoe pointing towards a bush on the far side of the clearing. Luna looked closer and her eyes went wide in fear. "Zoe, you remember that cave that I told you about?" she asked hopefully. She stepped in front of her daughter and continued to look towards the bush.

"You mean the one that full-size wolves can't get in? The one only you and dad knew about?" Zoe was oblivious to why her mother was so afraid of the bush. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Suddenly a mountain lion jumped out of the bushes, its eyes filled with anger and rage.

Luna got into a fighting stance and growled at the mountain lion. She meant business and was ready to defend Zoe at all costs.

Luna looked back at her daughter for only a second to make sure she was still there. "Okay, here is what is going to happen. You see that big rock on the other side of the pond?" She asked as she gave the mountain lion another growl.

Zoe put her tail between her legs. "Mommy, I'm scared!" she whimpered.

"I know, baby!" said Luna reassuringly. "But you have to trust me okay?"

Zoe looked at her mom. "Okay, I trust you."

"Okay, so do you see the rock?" Luna asked again. I hope she sees it, she thought

Zoe looked across the pond and saw the rock her mother was talking about. "I see it," she pointing towards it.

The mountain lion began to creep closer to them, it's big eyes staring at Zoe.

Luna noticed this and stepped over Zoe shielding her. "YOU WANT HER, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME TO GET HER!" she shouted, a little saliva shooting out of her mouth. She began to give orders to Zoe. "Sweetheart, I need you to go to that rock. Behind it you should find a bush. Behind that bush is that cave, I told you about. Go….," she looked back at Zoe. Zoe looked into her mothers eyes. "NOW!" she cried as she charged the mountain lion.

Zoe watched as her mother tackled the lion to the ground. Her legs trembled as she remembered what she needed to do. She ran to the rock and gave one last look at her mother. She had the cat on its back.

She was still winning!

When she was sure that her mother would be okay, she ducked behind the rock and found the bush she was talking about. She stepped behind the bush and saw the hole. It was tiny! But it didn't prove any challenge for her as she ducked inside far enough to still see the entrance.

The sounds of fighting continued to go on for what seemed like hours. Until suddenly there was silence! Zoe wasn't sure who had won the fight but good thoughts and bad thoughts began to fly through her head. Did she kill the lion? Did the lion kill her? Did they kill each other? But Zoe knew only time would tell.

And so she waited…

And waited….

And waited….

After about an hour of complete silence, Zoe decided it was safe for her to come out. She crawled slowly out of the cave and peeked her head over the rock. What she saw next was horrific. She saw the mountain lion on the ground dead. But she looked at the far end of the clearing and saw her mother. "NOO!" she breathed sadly.

Her mother wasn't moving!

Zoe rushed out from behind the rock and rushed towards her mother but was cautious of the lion. In case it wasn't really dead. When she got to her mother, she stared at the horrors of the mountain lions damage.

Luna was covered in gashes and lacerations. The most noticeable being a long slash down her side. Her once beautiful white fur was now red with blood. Her face seemed almost untouched but there were a few little scratches on her nose and jaw. One of Luna's ears was torn and her eye lid had been sliced. Luna was dead but Zoe didn't want to believe that.

Zoe crawled up to her mom. "Mom…please…wake up," she cried giving her mom's body a push. "Mom, wake up!" she screamed hitting her mothers body.

But Luna didn't wake up!

Luna wiggled her tiny frame under her moms arm and laid next to her. She began to cry out loud as she realized that her mother wasn't going to wake up. She had lost both her parents and now she was alone in life.

And Zoe stayed with her mom's body for hours until eventually a patrol stumbled upon them.

* * *

And so the sanctuary became a safe haven for Zoe. It helped her be with her mother although she wasn't actually there. That cave had saved her life. Her mother sacrificed herself to save her child. Zoe used the place to reconnect with her mother. It was her place of Zen and peace. And now she was inside.

Zoe had made her way deeper into the cave. Inside she had made a nest and everything she would need to survive. She laid down in the nest and let her mind race. If she gave her heart to Jax then she would lose Atlas as her best friend probably forever. If she gave her heart to Atlas then she would lose Jax as her pack mate. She didn't know how she was going to choose. She loved and cared about both of them dearly. The idea of losing either of them made her cry.

"Why must these things be so hard?"

"I love both of them!"

"But I know I can only choose one," she said, finally coming to the realization that life sucked.

The white wolf had a big decision to make but she decided instead of arguing with herself; like that was going to go any where. She decided to sleep on it. The running and crying had made her very tired so it wasn't even a few minutes after she had laid her head down that she was asleep. Her light snores echoed off the walls making her body and mind more relaxed and at ease.

* * *

" _ZOE, WHERE ARE YOU_?" shouted Atlas with a worried glance at his companion, Jax. "Where on earth could she have gone?"

The pair had been given information, curtesy of Ajax, that she had gone into the forest. He too had been worried about her when he saw how sad and distraught she looked. "I have never seen her like this" he had told them. That made Atlas and Jax both feel more worried about her but it had also doubled their determination to find her and bring her home.

Although Atlas couldn't smell good, he thought it may as well be worth a shot. But just like any other attempt he ever made of smelling after his accident, it failed miserably. Jax had never seen such effort to do something ever in his life. It amazed him to see Atlas attempt smelling, even though he knew he couldn't.

So Jax had whipped out his sniffer and quickly got o Zoe's trail. "She's heading deeper into the forest but we have to get around these cliff's if we are to have a chance at finding her," he explained to Atlas. "In fact, I might have an idea where she is or where she might be heading"

This was great news! But Atlas looked at Jax sternly. "Are you sure?" he demanded. "She could be anywhere in the park and you can easily pin point a location based on theory!"

"Trust me when I tell you this," Jax said defensively. "She is going to head somewhere she feels safe and based on stories I have been told, there is only one place that can do that for her," he explained. He pointed to the mountains. "She is going to be there and it is on the other side of those mountains." Jax began to follow Zoe's scent trail with Atlas close behind. He began telling him why he was right and why she thought that was a safe place.

But Atlas did his best to chime him out; it didn't last long.

Atlas gave in to Jax's defense and let him explain why that was a safe place for her. What Jax told Atlas next shocked him and made him feel uncomfortable. "So you are telling me that she is going to the place where her mother DIED!" he said giving emphasis on died. "How does that make one feel safe when a loved one was murdered or killed there?" He asked in confusion. "Doesn't that sound the least bit odd to you?"

Jax just shrugged as he took another whiff of the air and pointed in the direction of Zoe's scent trail. "She headed up the mountain. It's one of the fastest ways to get where she was heading," he explained. "But I do agree with you, it did sound a bit strange when I heard about it. You'd think when something like that happens to a loved one, you'd try and avoid the area as best as possible."

"But she felt a strong connection with that place," Atlas concluded. "It helps her remember her mothers memory better than any monument or statue."

"Exactly….., only if I knew what a statue was," he agreed. "What's a statue?"

Atlas couldn't believe his ears. There were statues all throughout the park, how could he not have noticed one. But he didn't antagonize him for it. "It's a portrayal of someone or something special. One of the largest is Mount Rushmore. It has four of our nations greatest Presidents on it." He saw that he only made Jax more confused than he was prior. "But we don't have to delve deeper into it, seeing as though you have no idea what I am talking," he stated trying to change the subject.

But there was only silence between the two as they made their way up the mountain.

* * *

After about another thirty minutes of hiking and continued silence, Jax stopped beside a large cliff and looked out into the horizon. Atlas took up position beside Jax and made the poor choice of looking down. Atlas had a little fear of heights but he didn't want Jax to see that.

The cliff they were on was about thirty feet tall but that only stopped at a small landing. The cliff continued further down, where Atlas could here a faint crashing of water from the parks river. A fall could severely injure a wolf or dog, if they fell over. But the vast horizon made the cliff seem like it was nothing.

From where Atlas and Jax were sitting, they could see the ocean in the far distance, but just barely. It showed up as a very thin blue line in their eyes but Atlas knew that it was the ocean. The river below them was as wide as a football field and seemed to be an outlet to the ocean. But what made the view seem more breath-taking was the chilled winds coming down from the mountains summit. Also Between them and the ocean was covered in different kinds of trees: pine, oak, birch, you name it, it was probably there. Atlas knew why he couldn't see the town because Adventure Bay was farther down the coast from them.

Jax was the first to speak of such wonders. "It's beautiful isn't it?" he asked quietly. He didn't want to ruin the moment for Atlas, who was clearly enjoying such sights. Jax had always enjoyed this view but it wasn't as exciting as it was his first time there. His first time was with Zoe and some of their friends. It was his favorite and most cherished memory of her. But he knew he had a deeper connection with another wolf.

Jax had come to the realization that he had a crush on someone else. He also knew that Zoe had a different wolf or should I say dog in mind than him. He had watch them kiss in the recovery den. And Jax had already been with his crush for a while and he had kept it secret but he couldn't hold back anymore. Someone needed to know his secret and Atlas seemed like a individual who could keep a secret.

Atlas nodded. "It's very beautiful. Can't believe I'll get to live with it for the rest of my days," he said hinting of his future life as a pack mate.

Jax knew he had a very important question to ask Atlas but he also didn't want to ask him. Yet it had to be asked whether he wanted to or not. He took in a deep breath and looked at Atlas. "I have to ask you something important if that is okay?"

"Sure, what's up?" said Atlas looking at Jax.

"Do you promise to keep it to yourself until I decide to tell everyone else?" He asked hopefully. If Atlas spilled the beans on him, he would be scared of the consequences he may have to suffer.

"Of course, I don't like to share private information about others. I am way more mature than that," he put a paw on Jax's shoulder. "So what is it that you want to tell me?"

Jax shifted uncomfortably and he felt the beating up butterflies in his stomach. He swallowed a bit of fear and sudden regret down his throat. "I had a crush on Zoe!" he whispered.

Atlas was confused. "What do you mean, had a crush on Zoe?" On the inside, Atlas was shocked. He never knew Jax had feelings for Zoe let alone had a crush. But he knew that wasn't only what Jax wanted to tell him. He knew it had to be something deeper than that. "Jax, what aren't you telling me?"

Jax had a regretting look on his face. But there was no turning back now. He took one large gulp and looked Atlas directly in the eye. Something inside Atlas didn't want to hear what Jax had to say but he knew that he was too far into it than he wanted to be. So he prepared himself for what Jax was going to say and looked the young wolf in the eye. But what Jax said next would change his perspectives and ultimately change him forever. "It has something to do with my love life with someone. That someone not being Zoe."

Atlas couldn't see nor understand where Jax was going with this conversation. _Who could he like besides Zoe? She would have been a perfect mate for him. But he doesn't see it like that,_ he thought. "Jax, you can trust me with what you have to tell me." He placed his paws on Jax's shoulders reassuring the young wolf. "I promise that it won't be shared with anyone but me...myself...and I."

That seemed to make Jax more comfortable. He took one deep breath before breathing out a phrase. A phrase that would change his views on life and all things closest to him especially his family. He turned his body so that it was facing Atlas and he looked at Atlas straight in the eye before he spoke.

"I'm gay, Atlas!"

* * *

 **HUH! HUH! HUH! You probably were not thinking of that right? I had realized that I didn't have a gay pairing. I don't mind gay pairings one bit, in fact, some of my favorite stories have a gay pairing or two in them. So I decided that I was going to add one to this story. Tell me what you think in a review!**

 **As usual, there are new questions and here they are:**

 **Who do you think Jax's secret lover is?**

 **Do you like the intro of a gay pairing? (Don't worry, I'm not offended if you don't)**

 **Does a gay pairing ruin the story?**

 **I know that those questions seem GAY *Bah* *Dum* *Tss* but I want to get your opinion on it. And trust me when I tell you this. This adds so much more drama to the story than you might think. I'll let you figure it out for yourself.**

 **Also I looked at the poll and I have already decided on which idea is going to be done. Yep, you said it IDEA #1 WON! I already have a title for that story as well, you ready for this:**

 **K9 Special Forces: A War Dog Story**

 **Let me know what you think about that!**

 **Anyway that is all I have for you people. NEXT CHAPTER WON'T BE UP TILL NEXT WEEK**

 **REMEMBER TO FOLLOW/FAVORITE THE STORY AND ME FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON NEW CONTENT**

 **Atlas Out!**


	18. Chapter 18

**I started having a bad feeling when I posted the last chapter. It was the way I had it end that is just bothering me. And I think I might have screwed up. So I owe you guys an explanation for why I went the route I did and it is simply this:**

 **I STARTED TO NOT LIKE USING JAX ANYMORE! I JUST WANTED TO FIND A WAY TO KILL HIM OFF. WHAT THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS FOR HIM AND ATLAS TO GET IN A FIGHT ON THE CLIFF AND JAX FALLS OFF THE CLIFF DYING INSTANTLY. BUT A VIEWER BROUGHT UP GAY PAIRINGS AND I CHANGED MY MIND.**

 **And I am SUPER serious about that! I felt as though I couldn't pull myself to kill off such a young character. I just couldn't do it. Also, I have an OC his age that could be his lover and I plan to use that OC. No, it isn't one of the ones I have listed. It isn't Ajax, Sampson, Atlas or Drake. It's a character that was brought up in a recent chapter, that's all I'll say. Some of you serious followers may have already figured it out but do me a favor and keep it to yourself.**

 **I hope that this route doesn't change your attitudes for this story or for me as an author. I'd die if I lose my beloved viewers to a poor choice that I made. So I hope that you all understand now why I did what I did and I hope you can forgive me for it.**

 **Also about the gay pairing: I don't plan on making a huge sex scene out of it. I plan to do simple, young love. I can't bring myself to do one. Sorry!**

 **Thanks for supporting me this far and let's get right into it**

 **WELCOME TO CHAPTER 18 OF BRING HER HOME!**

* * *

All life on Earth seemed to stop!

The black shepherd could only stare at Jax. He literally had to distance himself from the other dog. His comment had made the Shepherd very uncomfortable and just as much confused. He never would have thought that Jax's sexuality was shared with another male. Jax didn't seem like someone who would be gay but I guess you can't judge a book by its cover. Atlas didn't know why Jax would share such personal information with him. To Atlas, that was wrong and foolish.

The two barely knew each other, despite the fact they recovered in the same den for three weeks.

Such information could ruin a dogs life. The pack could reject him and his lover because of it. But there must have been some reasoning behind it. So Atlas had to get to the bottom of why Jax shared his secret with him. "Why would you tell me something like that?" he asked worryingly.

Jax's hazel eyes watered in regret. "I-I don't know," he whispered. "You just…..you just seemed like someone th-that I could trust. Please tell me I am right?" he croaked. A stray tear dropped from his muzzle.

Atlas couldn't believe it. Jax saw him as a trustworthy dog. "You are right," he reassured. "But why now? What made this time to tell me the perfect time?" He asked curiously.

Jax looked up at Atlas, his eyes were still dripping tears. "Because I know of your love for Zoe!" he mumbled. "So I figured that you would be willing to keep information a secret if I helped you find her," he explained while wiping his nose with a paw.

Atlas couldn't believe it; he had been used. "So you played me like it was what…..some kind of game?"

Jax took a step back. "Yes…I did use you," he answered "But you have to understand that I did it with good intentions."

"Good intentions!" mocked Atlas. "So you decided to help me find her with the thought that I would keep your homophobic love life a secret?"

Jax nodded but kept his mouth shut. Anymore excuses would make it worse.

"Well I can tell you that it is working," Atlas stated. "You have my trust in keeping your new found love a secret."

Jax's face lit up with astonishment. "You would do that for me, after all I put you through?"

Atlas didn't nod or respond but he held his paw out. "This is my way of telling you that I swear to keep it a secret."

Jax stared at Atlas's paw in confusion. "What is this paw signal you got going on here? I'm not familiar with it."

Atlas shrugged. "It's called a hand shake or, in our case, a paw-shake. You just need to take your paw and grab mine and shake it. Not violently but enough to get the big picture," he explained

Jax lifted up his paw gingerly and took Atlas's paw in his. "This is really weird," he laughed

"Indeed it is but it works," Atlas chuckled but he wasn't through with Jax just yet. "But I got just one question: how would you know what my feelings are for Zoe?" he demanded. "Do you have any proof?" His neck fur was starting to spike; he was slightly agitated. Jax was going to tell him one way or another.

Stunned by the sudden anger and growing hostility from Atlas, Jax nodded his head briefly. "Three weeks ago, I saw her kiss you when you had tackled and pinned her to the ground," he explained. "I remember the day perfectly."

Atlas sighed as he watched Jax. who seemed to be lost in thought. He let his neck fur relax and lay back down "Why would you remember that day?" Nothing was making sense to him at this moment. "That was the day you found out Zoe liked me more than you," he pointed out. "Wouldn't that be a day to just bury and forget?"

The young dog shook his head. "No, I remember that day for something else," he explained. He was being honest and open with Atlas. "Not the thing you and Zoe shared, but something, in my opinion, much more delightful." His eyes dried up from crying and were replaced with joy and happiness. "It was the day I met the perfect someone that loved me just as much." His body was overjoyed. It was like he had never started crying at all.

His lover was on his mind!

"Who did you fall in love with, if I may ask?" Atlas was okay with him not telling. Jax would have reasons to keep the identity a secret.

Jax looked down at his own paws and inhaled a deep breath. "I fell in love with…," he paused as though telling Atlas his lovers identity was a dangerous thing to do. He's better than that. He said it himself, he thought. That gave him enough courage and reassurance to tell Atlas. "I fell in love with Cody!" he blurted out proudly.

"Oh, boy!"

* * *

The sun was shining down through The Sanctuary's roof towards the nest where Zoe was sleeping. It's bright yellow rays set upon her like wet on water. The warmth from them made her shudder; her body had been a little cold. But the sun didn't bring just warmth, it also brought its evil sense of humor named wake-up call. The rays directed themselves towards Zoe's face.

Zoe instantly covered her face when she felt the discomfort from the sun on her eye lids. Keeping her paw over her face, she opened her eyes slowly and let them adjust to the darkness. When her eyes felt adjusted, she slowly moved her paw towards the sun. Which allowed her eyes to see her surroundings but still have enough shadow to shield them from the bright sun. Now her eyes were fully adjusted and she could let out a relaxing yawn while dropping her paw.

Her mouth gaped wide open, revealing her own arsenal of sharp teeth. Sharp enough that if she ever got into a fight, it would be all bite and no bark. Her long tongue rolled out her mouth as well. The pink muscle happy to see the light again before being sucked back in to its prison. Next, Zoe got out of her nest and stretched her back and legs. A restful sleep to her was stiff joints and muscles; she enjoyed popping her back and neck. She moaned slightly whenever she got a good crack from either her back or her neck. It truly was satisfying! After she was fully awake and stretched, she began to look around The Sanctuary since she didn't care to look around when she arrived.

The Sanctuary was about the size of the recovery den back in the caves. It was completely filled in with grass and had one tree growing out the center. So you could say it was her own special version of the hub clearing; minus the multiple caves branching off from it. It made her feel more comfortable knowing that nothing bigger than her could get in there with her. Not even through the roof.

The roof of the Sanctuary was nearly fifty feet of the ground. Anything that fell into it from the top would die on impact with the ground. So she didn't have to worry about mountain lions; she had the fear of mountain lions since her mother was killed by one.

But the Sanctuary was a very safe place. She could bring in herbs to heal herself with, in the event she got into an accident and couldn't make it home. She had water from a little stream that skirted the outer edge of the clearing. Its water as crisp and clear like the pond outside.

But every drink reminded her of that day.

She had named the tree in the center of the clearing after her mother. So in a way, she always knew where her 'mother' was and also knew that she could come and meet her at anytime. Zoe always talked to her 'mother' when she had no one else to talk to. It helped her make her own decisions because she knew that in reality she was just talking to a tree. And she knew she had a big decision to make between two individuals that she loved dearly: Jax and Atlas.

Zoe approached the tree and sat against it. The bark intertwined with her fur making the two seem to be as one organism. She leaned her head against the tree and began to talk. "Hi, mom," she started. That was the first thing she always said to the tree. It made her feel as though she was actually with her mother. "I really miss you. I think about you every day," she was getting a little emotional. Bad memories brought sad feelings. "And I know you probably do the same thing about me but that's not why I am here." She took in a deep breath. "As you might already know, I have gotten myself into quite a predicament recently. It's about my love towards two dogs: Jax and Atlas. Both of which I know love me but I am having troubles choosing between the two."

She got up and began to walk around the cave, keeping the tree in the center of her circle at all times.

"You always told me to follow what my heart tells me but that's the problem." She let out a whimper. "My heart is split between the two of them." Her emotions were like glass; if dropped, she would shatter into a million pieces never to be put back together again. "Why must these things be so hard?" she cried. "It isn't fair…then again neither is life," she stated.

A decision had to be made but it was a decision that would ultimately lead to the heartbreak of one of her friends. So she asked herself, "What is best for me?"

She began to compare the similarities and differences between the two. Both were very nice to her; she didn't want an abusive mate. Not saying that there were any in the pack. Both were around her age, Atlas being a year older and Jax being a few months older; she didn't want a younger mate than her, it just seemed strange to her. Those were some of the similarities they shared but their differences would be the real influence of her decision.

What she liked about Jax was how he acted when he was around his sister. Even though she could take care of herself, Jax would always protect Holly from any dangers. He was a very good brother. Granted his niceness was sometimes a little unnecessary sometimes. He would move debris out of her way to let her walk a clean path. He would never let her cross a patch of sticky mud unless he covered it somehow. What she really liked about him was how loyal he was to the pack. He treated his home with respect as though his home would return the favor someday. It was unusual sometimes to see him clean up the cave, he would never ask for help. He would do it himself. But overall he would make a loyal mate for Zoe. That's why she liked him so much.

But the reason she liked Atlas was way different.

The reason she liked Atlas was because he was very open with her. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would hide something from his friends and family. But if given a secret, he would guard that secret with his life and make sure nobody knew it. She also liked how unique he was, mainly his fur and build. She deeply admired his dark black fur and his vibrant green eyes. It was a rare color and eye combination she never usually saw in a pack. She liked his body build; he was muscular but not too muscular. She didn't like the over buffed bodies she had seen on other dogs. It didn't seem natural to her.

But Zoe also admired Atlas mainly for his past life. She liked hearing about the stories of his patrols with Chase when they were police officers. It made her feel more comfortable with the outside world knowing that there were individuals that live their lives to serve and protect others. And that's why she loved Atlas because she knew he would do everything in his power to protect her.

But she still had to make a decision. She looked up through the roof of the Sanctuary. It was nearly midday. That left plenty of time to make a decision and make it home before it got dark. Zoe went over the similarities and differences her head over…

And over…

And over…

Until she eventually came to her final decision. Little did she realize that she spent an hour making her decision. She gave one last look through the roof before walking towards the exit. The exit had been modified since she was a pup. She had made it wider on the inside so she could leave easier but she spent time hiding the entrance so that no one would stumble across it. She crouched down low and began to crawl through to the entrance.

Once Zoe was on the other side, she hid the entrance behind a series of large rocks, which made it seem like it had been there for a while. Satisfied with her work, she turned tail and ran out of the clearing. She may have had a special connection with the place but it still gave her the creeps.

The dog Zoe chose kept wandering in her mind. Had she made the right choice? What if he rejects me? But she was certain that her choice was for the best and that they wouldn't reject her. "I just hope he understands why I didn't choose him!"

And so began the journey back home…..

* * *

Jax and Atlas had not moved from their spot on the cliff. The conversation had totally sidetracked the search for Zoe. But they didn't seem to care at the moment. They were too busy talking about Jax's new love situation.

Atlas had paced around the area. A noticeable path had been pressed into the ground. "So, how did you know Cody was the one?" He was confused at how they were into each other; not that he was bothered by it. "It just seems strange to think that you went from liking Zoe to liking Cody in a day. How does that work?" he asked questioningly.

Jax understood why his friend was confused. "I didn't just fall in love with Cody day one," he explained. "He and I were very good friends as kids and girls were never interesting to us." He licked his lips. "Granted I did take a liking for Zoe, but I didn't feel that connection with her like I did with Cody."

Atlas nodded. "Did you know Cody was gay or did you have to ask him about it?"

"I knew Cody was gay!" he exclaimed. "He told me a while ago."

Atlas was surprised to see that Jax really did have a connection with Cody. But he was also worried about it for one little reason. "Does Ajax know about this?" Atlas knew that Cody was special to Ajax. The two had shared a connection with the previous pack leader, Archer, and they practically grew up together.

That was the question that made Jax close his doors and lock them. He began to shake and look around uncomfortably. The poor guy couldn't even look Atlas in the eye. But in the midst of the discomfort, he slowly shook his head as he stared at the ground in shame.

"Does Ajax believe a pairing between two males would be bring shame to the pack?" he asked curiously.

Jax looked into Atlas's green eyes. "I don't know," he groaned. "We've never had a pairing like this in our pack so he never brought up the topic but he might not care about it." He was worried that if Ajax disapproved of them being together, that they would either have to break the relationship or one of them is sent into banishment. Jax couldn't live with either of those decisions. "I don't want to ask because I fear for the worst and I'm not prepared for that kind of pain."

Atlas didn't want to press the topic further but he had one question he had to ask. "Can I ask you something…..personal?" The situation was going to get very awkward very fast. "It's about your relationship with Cody?"

Jax had a weird gut feeling telling him he knew where Atlas was going with this. But he may as well play along with him. The shepherd was clearly curious but skeptical. Not to mention cute! "Sure, what would you like to know?" he pressed.

"Have you and Cody…umm….have you to, uhhh." Atlas could feel his heart pounding. His core body temperature was rising causing him to pant. "Have you two taken your relationship to the next level!?" He gasped for air. That was the worst question he had ever asked anyone. Especially to someone who was a few years younger than he was. "Have you?"

"You mean have we had sex!" he chuckled. "Yes, yes we have!"

Atlas was now burning up on the inside. His heart was beating faster than the speed of light and his breathing was causing him to hyperventilate. He began to walk away from Jax as he was too embarrassed.

How could someone be that open? Atlas never usually met someone who was like an open book. It was very rare to find that kind of individual and Jax just so happened to be one of them. Atlas was impressed and shocked at the same time.

"Where are you going?" called out Jax. "The clearing and Zoe are that way," he said pointing the opposite direction.

Atlas stopped in his tracks. He had been so caught up in Jax's sex life that he forgot why they were actually out there. He turned to see Jax sitting there staring at him. Jax looked as though they never had their conversation; he looked relaxed and balanced. Atlas started to walk back to Jax and ultimately passed him. "Let's go!" he mumbled as he passed.

But he needed some space!

And Jax saw that when Atlas passed. He had made the shepherd feel uncomfortable. _Serves him right to ask such a personal question_ , he thought. But Jax was impressed with the courage Atlas gave when he asked that question. "He'd make a perfect mate for Zoe," he whispered, just out of ear shot.

Atlas looked back to see Jax straggling behind by about twenty feet. He felt horrible for asking such a personal question. "I'm sorry I asked you that," he hollered back. "It was very inappropriate and ignorant of me to ask something like that and I'm sorry for it."

Jax increased his pace until he was next to Atlas and stepped in front of him, bringing all forward movement to a halt. Jax turned his head to look at Atlas. "I forgive you, besides, I was probably going to tell you anyway." He smiled, exposing his white teeth.

"Tell him, what?" asked a new voice

Jax froze when he heard the voice; he'd recognize the voice anywhere. He turned his head the other direction to see if he was truly spot on. Please don't let it be who I think it is! Once he was staring at the newcomer, he winced as thought someone shot him again.

He was right! Spot on, if you might say!

"Zoe!" Atlas breathed. He stepped around Jax until he stood in front of her. He reached out and pulled her into a hug. He held her for a minute before talking to her. "Why did you run off? You scared the living daylights out of us." He snapped but he wasn't angry, he was just scared.

"I just needed time to think about something," she said softly. She pulled away from the hug and looked for Jax. "I'm sorry I scared you!"

Jax had distanced himself from the two and was looking out into the horizon. They needed space and he provided it.. He only looked over briefly to see Zoe staring at him. "What?" he asked defensively. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Nothing, it's just that you are standing as far away from me as possible." Her face turned to worry. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he snapped.

Zoe just shrugged. "Okay, if you say so!" she said blankly. She was used to a bad attitude, it didn't affect her own. She looked at Atlas warmly. "I have something to tell you two."

Atlas looked back at Jax and they both nodded. They knew what she was going to tell them. "Moment of truth," Atlas whispered to which Jax nodded.

"What do you need to tell us? Is it bad?" asked Jax, giving Zoe a hard look. He was not angry at her anymore.

Zoe was afraid of answering him because she knew her answer could hurt him. "Sort of," she said sadly. "It's bad for…one of you," she winced, hoping she didn't hurt anyone's feelings.

Atlas had discussed with Jax about this and made a plan. The plan was to play along with her and act as though this was the first time they heard it from her. So, to make sure the plan was still on, both dogs froze intentionally and looked at each other worryingly.

When Atlas made eye contact with Jax, he winked. That wink was a signal of their true plan; and the plan was still on. "Zoe, what's wrong?" he asked with a sad look in his eye.

Zoe was oblivious to the boys toying with her. "I've made a decision recently that could ruin one of you." She gulped and licked her lips. "I've chosen my true love between you two."

Jax knew he had to go along with the plan. He let his fur rise and he barred he teeth at Atlas. "WHAT!?" he snapped stepping in front of Zoe. "You like her too!" He winked at Atlas to show he wasn't serious.

"What are you going to do about it, huh?" Atlas growled, getting in Jax's face. "Try something I dare you. Trust me, I'll hit you so hard your grandpups will feel it!"

"Bring it on, outsider," Jax snapped.

" _STOP_!" Zoe watched the two immediately withdraw from each others space. "Thank you! As I was saying, I chose who to give my heart, between you two." She looked at Jax first. "Jax, you have been a great friend in my life. You have always been there to support me and I thank you for it."

"It's been my pleasure, Zoe," he said hugging her. "You've been a good friend as well."

Zoe sat herself in front of Atlas. "Atlas, I've only known you for a few weeks now but I feel as though I've known you my whole life. And in the time you've spent in the recovery den." Se paused and realized something. "Speaking of which, why aren't you in there right now. I never gave you approval to leave," she stated.

Atlas gulped. "Uhhh,…I got worried about you, so I came to look for you."

Zoe made a face of complete stupidity. "Right, I completely forgot," she apologized. "Back to what I was saying. You have made me more comfortable with the outside world than anyone ever has. Thank you," she said, rushing into him for a hug.

"You're welcome, Zoe," said Atlas. "You've made life so much greater for me."

Zoe released from the hug and sat in front of Atlas and Jax. "So I just want you to know that I will love you both no matter who I choose," she paused to take a deep breath; it was time to share her decision. "So I have chosen…..

"Wait," interrupted Jax.

Atlas gulped deeply. That wasn't apart of the plan.

"I just want you to know that you will always have my support no matter who you choose," he explained.

Atlas sighed. He _didn't reveal his love for Cody, thank god,_ he thought.

"I understand," said Zoe. "The individual I have chosen is…," she paused, adding a dramatic essence to the atmosphere.

Atlas and Jax were sweating beads but both knew that they were fake. They both already knew who she was going to choose. The two males exchanged a knowing glance and looked at Zoe at the exact same time.

Zoe looked at her choice, who smiled. "Atlas," she cried. "Will you be my mate?"

* * *

 **You probably already predicted that ending with the "out of the closet" performance from my OC Jax. But for those of you who didn't, I hope that makes you feel more comfortable with this story. So based on all of my chapters so far, you should be able to figure out what comes next and here they are:**

 **What was/is your favorite pairing in THIS story?**

 **(It can be pairings that consist of individuals who aren't mates, it can be a special connection pairing. For Example: Ajax and Archer)**

 **What has been the most memorable part of this story?**

 **What's missing?**

 **Sad ending or Happy ending?**

 **That's all I have for you guys today. And I know I am always ahead of my deadlines but you know, I have all the time in the world. So the next chapter will be out in the very close future.**

 **Make sure to FOLLOW/FAVORITE**

 **Thanks for tuning in to a new chapter and I'll see you guys in the next one**

 **Atlas Out!**


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm glad to have such faithful viewers like you guys! You are the reason I continue this story and the spark that keeps the ideas thinking. You probably want me to explain the rant but I'm not going to. I don't really feel like it nor do I want to, press the matter any farther. And the guest has reviewed my rant and here is my response:**

 **I GET THE FACT THAT YOU ARE RELIGIOUS, I REALLY DO! I ALSO GET THAT YOU CAN'T RIDICULE, HATE OR IGNORE SOMEONE BECAUSE OF A DIFFERENT RELIGION TO YOURS, I RESPECT THAT. AND I AM FULLY AWARE THAT ZOE SAID THAT JAX WAS CUTE BUT ALSO REMEMBER THAT ATLAS AND ZOE HAD NOT EVEN MET YET. AND WHEN THEY FINALLY DID MEET, ZOE BECAME MORE INTERESTED IN ATLAS WHICH ULTIMATELY LED TO HER KISSING HIM AND EVENTUALLY CHOOSING HIM OVER JAX. I HOPE THAT SHEDS A LITTLE LIGHT ON THIS MATTER AND I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND IT BETTER. THANKS FOR BRINGING IT TO MY ATTENTION! I STILL RESPECT YOU AS A CONSTANT VIEWER, I HOPE MY PAST DECISIONS DON'T DISINTEREST YOU FROM READING FUTURE STORIES. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING OVER DRAMATIC!**

 **WHAT'S SAID HAS BEEN SAID! NO MORE!**

 **On more exciting news, I want to give a big thanks to a few individuals on this site. These individuals have made me feel more comfortable and reassured for myself that I just want to write more and here they are:**

 **MarshallB-I really liked your comment that you left about my rant. It made me truly think about the life of this story and future stories to come. You've been a supporter practically from the beginning, which is why you are probably my favorite viewer. Thank You! And I'm sorry guest comments are the reason you stopped writing; I was really liking that story you had going on!**

 **LodShepherd-I enjoy reading your comments! I also like the fact that you share this story with others and actually get excited when you see a new chapter pop-up. It really means a lot, thanks dude! But sadly, I will have to decline on the idea of a male on male sex scene and I forgive you for your suggestion. Yet, I still like you as one of my viewers. Thank You! SHOUTOUT TO MY VIRGINIA FANS!**

 **Ranger Pup-I know very little about you but what I like about you is your interest in helping others with their stories, especially me. I can't wait to collaborate with you on K9 Special Forces: A War Dog Story. It's going to be tons of fun! Thanks for your interest in me and my content!**

 **PBJNachos- You have been a close supporter of this story! Even though you've been busy recently, you still came back to my story. That means a lot to me, knowing that you take the time to read a chapter or two. I enjoy reading your reviews and I hope you continue enjoying my content. Thank You!**

 **Guest- I know you and I may not see eye to eye about the last few chapters. Believe me, I have the same feeling about some of the other stories that I read but I later discover that it was for good reason. I still see you as a very cool person. You are the individual who made a suggestion that I liked and not many people can do that. I hope you continue to read my story for what it is and not what it should be. You have my respect and my gratitude, Thank you! And keep up the good suggestions!**

 **If you other viewers get a chance, go and read either MarshallB or Ranger Pups stories. I've grown to like them and read them when I'm down or I need time for my self.**

 **Any way, that's all I really have for you so lets dive in!**

 **WELCOME TO CHAPTER 19 OF BRING HER HOME!**

* * *

Joy!

It's just one of those little aspects of life that no man, women, child or animal cannot live without. Even if life is short lived like a common house fly. If you choose to live without joy then you aren't technically living a life at all. Joy is powerful in more ways than anyone can imagine. It's the workforce that helps you make it through a struggling, exhausting work day. It's what you use to help bring yourself back up the ladder even if it has crumbled to the ground. It's what helps keep all other emotions in check such as: anger, sadness, disgust and fear.

And that was the overpowering emotion speeding though Atlas!

His mind was replaying Zoe asking him to be her mate over….

And over….

And over again….

It was feeling like that song you get stuck in your head that just never leaves because you love it so much.

Atlas looked deeply into his new mates eyes. They were as green as his were, maybe even greener. But Atlas didn't care, he admired them for their beauty and intelligence. Zoe's fur was made her stand out to him. The ice white fur was shining in the sun and was just amazing to look at. Atlas seemed to blend all these beautiful traits together and saw the overall picture of his new mate, Zoe.

Atlas leaned out to her and kissed her deeply. He shoved his tongue into her mouth and explored every inch of it. Oh, I could get used to this, he thought as he broke away from the kiss. "I guess that kiss makes it official then doesn't it?" he asked sweetly.

Zoe smiled a bright smile. "Yes, it does," she said, placing a paw on his cheek. "I can't think of anyone else to call it official with." She leaned in and kissed him this time.

"Ahem!" coughed Jax. "You do realize I am standing right here don't you."

Atlas and Zoe both exchanged embarrassed faces. They had just declared themselves mates in front of Jax, the other choice for a potential mate for Zoe. "Sorry," whispered Atlas. "I just got caught up in the moment."

Zoe, on the other paw, walked up to Jax and hugged him deeply. "I'm sorry I didn't choose you," she said sadly with a sniff. "If Atlas weren't around, you would have been the one but….," she began to weep silently.

Jax returned the hug deeply an began to stroke Zoe's fur. Jax shivered slightly at the smooth texture. Almost like granite in his opinion. "Stop," he ordered quietly. "You made your decision and I respect it." He let go of her and looked her in the eye. "That's all that matters!" he explained, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Atlas understood why Zoe felt the way she did walked up behind her. He placed a reassuring paw on her shoulder and touched his nose to the back of her neck. "You see," he started. "He understands why you didn't choose him over me. In fact, it probably makes your friendship with him even better." He gave Jax a wink to which Jax returned.

"It's true," stated Jax. "I fully respect your choice but can I ask just one thing?" He held out one paw and stuck out one toe.

Zoe nodded. "Yes, of course!"

"Why him over me?" he asked curiously. "I mean, you did say to my father that you thought I was cute but you chose Atlas over me still, why is that?"

Zoe was feeling slightly skeptical about her choice which she knew why it was there. She looked into Atlas's green eyes. "Because I felt that spark when he came into the den for the first time," she took Atlas's paw in hers, holding it tightly. "but there is another reason!" she added with a little doubt.

Jax's nerve made his body still. "What would that reason be exactly," he said fearfully.

Zoe saw the anxiety in Jax's eyes. "I knew you were already taken by someone else," she winced

Jax and Atlas exchanged an 'oh shit' look to each other. "What do you mean taken by someone else?" asked Atlas, he needed to play along as though. "I thought he liked you?" Jax drooped his head in shame.

"I thought the same as well but I started figuring out some things when he was in the recovery den," Zoe responded. She looked at Jax. "Care to elaborate, Jax?"

Jax lifted his head back up to normal position. His eyes were watery and his lip trembled. "I don't know what you are talking about!" he said defensively. This made him tremble uncomfortably.

Atlas looked Jax in the eye. "You know that you can tell me," he said with a wink. "I won't hold anything against you no matter what it is."

Jax noticed the wink and understood what Atlas was doing. "I don't feel comfortable talking about it," he said sadly.

Zoe was unaware that Atlas already knew about Jax. "Jax, I already know about you and your secret." She placed a paw on his shoulder. "You don't have to be afraid."

Jax looked out towards the sea and noticed the sun descending ever so closely to the waters surface. "It's getting late," he stated, gesturing out to the sun. "I'll tell you both about it on the way back" He began to lead the way back home.

About an hour into the trek back to the caves, Jax had been coaxed into revealing his new found love for Cody. It had taken Atlas and Zoe serious convincing to finally get him to spill the beans, but they managed to do it. He was explaining how he had known Cody was the one.

"And so I watched what you two did in the recovery den, so I left to find Cody," he paused. "Who of which, I found in the hub clearing and he was by himself, so I decided to give him some company."

"What happened next?" asked Atlas, jumping up and over a large pile of rocks. But he misjudged the jump and landed on a pile of smaller, smoother rocks causing him to slide uncontrollably. He finally got the rocks under control and managed to stop them from moving. "I'm good, please proceed," he said with a laugh.

Jax let out a small chuckle and continued with his story. "So I sat beside him and that's where my new path began…."

* * *

Jax had a lot on his mind; a lot of good and a lot of bad. The good news was that he was going to get to spend more time with his father, Chase. The bad news was that he just witnessed Zoe kissing Atlas. He couldn't believe his eyes when he watched it unfold before his eyes, it made him sick. But if Jax was anything like his father, then he got over it quickly. Yet, the thought lingered like a stain on white fur; it just wouldn't go away.

"I can't believe that dog!" he growled through clenched teeth. "He took her from me and now my chances with her are slim to none." His mind raced with rage and he needed to hit something but a rock wall wasn't the best choice. "I have to tell Cody," he concluded.

He walked into the central hub clearing which he found to be fairly empty. His eyes went to work, scanning the room for Cody in particular. He set his eyes on Cody, who was sitting across the clearing by himself.

Jax walked quickly across the clearing and he let his mind settle from the make out session between Atlas and Zoe. Jax sat down beside his best friend. He noticed that his friend was looking down sadly like he had done something wrong. "What's up?" he asked with a friendly shove. "You aren't looking very cheerful!"

Cody jumped at the new presence of Jax. "My goodness, you scared the crap out of me!" he gasped but ultimately sighed. "Oh, it's nothing important," he responded. "Nothing you need to worry yourself over."

Jax lifted his friend head up by the scruff and looked him in the eye. "If it were for nothing important then you wouldn't be sulking," he sympathized. "I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything. You know that right?" he asked with a pat on the back.

Cody nodded sadly. "Yeah, I know," he sniffed. "But I can't tell you here," he said looking around the clearing. "Even though there is like nobody in here."

"So why not just tell me your problem?" asked Jax. "Like you said, there is no one here," he said arcing his arm around the clearing.

Cody shook his head. "No, I don't want to risk it!" he exclaimed. "Let's head out into the forest, where no one will bother us."

Jax shrugged and let Cody take the lead.

After about half an hour of trekking deep into the wilderness, Cody and Jax came across a box canyon. Cody looked at Jax and began to walk through the canyon. "Come on, it's just through the canyon."

"Where exactly are you taking me?" Jax asked while squeezing through a tight portion of the canyon.

"It's a place I found a while ago where no one will find us, trust me," he explained.

"I hope what you have to tell me is important because this canyon is going to be the death of me,'" Jax complained.

"Trust me, it's important," stated Cody. " And stop whining, you are embarrassing yourself!"

"Shut up!" snapped Jax

Cody just let out a suppressed snicker and continued through the canyon.

After about another ten minutes of walking through tight slot canyons and deep rain water deposits, they finally made it to Cody's place. The canyon disbanded into a lush green clearing with a massive tree growing on the center. It's trunk was at least ten feet across and soared endlessly into the sky. All across it's branches were bright white flowers

Jax stared at the tree's immense size and beauty. "That is one big damn tree!" he whispered. "How exactly did you find this place?"

Cody said nothing as he revealed a long scar on the inside of his left front leg. "I found it the same night I received this," he explained.

Jax recognized the scar, it was from a solo hunting accident when he was a wolf-trainee. "So instead of coming home, you came straight here?"

Cody shook his head. "No, I found it before I got injured. I knew that I had to come home to get my injuries treated," he explained. He took in a deep breath through the nose, inhaling all the beautiful scents this place had to offer.

Jax indeed did the same and drank the scents falling in love with this place instantly. "Oh, I could get used to hanging out here!" He looked at Cody. "So what is it that you had to drag me out here for?"

Cody frowned. "First off, I didn't drag you out here, you came willingly," he countered. "And second…I don't know how to explain it in words. "I recently, found interest in someone!" he said excitingly.

"That's great news," Jax smiled. He knew Cody was gay and that he was trying his best to find that perfect someone. 'Tell me about him"

Cody licked his lips. "He is a one of a kind dog!" he announced. "He is smart, brave, kind, and he has a huge personality" Cody's eyes began to stare deeply at Jax.

Jax was aware of Cody staring at him but thought nothing of it. "He seems like the perfect one, have you talked to him yet?"

"No, I'm afraid that he might not be like me!" he whimpered.

"You won't know until you ask," quoted Jax.

Oh, I am so going to regret this, Cody thought. And he lunged forward, connecting Jax's lips with his.

Jax was unprepared for that! He never thought Cody would take his difference that far. But instead of resisting the kiss, he embraced it and kissed back. And being the bigger dog, he pushed Cody to the ground and kissed him deeper.

When Cody finally stopped kissing Jax, he smiled happily. "I can't believe that worked!" He pumped his arm in the air: success.

"Was that what you were going to tell me?" Jax asked, his mouth forming a smile. "Am I the one?"

Cody nodded. But his excited look quickly turned to shame. He got up off the ground and turned his back on Jax. "You probably think I'm weird now, don't you?" he mumbled quietly.

Jax was taken back by Cody's question. "Define weird to me?" he asked. He walked up to his friend and sat next him but didn't exchange eye contact. "Because as far as I can tell, you are the direct opposite of weird." He planted a paw on his friends farthest shoulder. "You're my best friend!" he reassured.

Cody turned his head and looked Jax in the eye. "But, why didn't you hit me or snap at me for kissing you?" His sadness turned to confusion.

"Because you doing that made me realize who my true love was destined to be," he explained taking Cody's paw in his. "You!"

"But why not Zoe? Wouldn't she be your destined to be?"

Jax shook his head. "She never gave me that special connection." His eyes started to water. "but….you did"

"So what are you saying?"

"You gave me that special connection that no one else could. You have been my best friend my whole life. We laughed together, played together, cried together, hell we even got in trouble together. You were always there by my side whenever I needed a friend. You constantly visited me when I was recovering and you helped me push through it. So all in all, what I am saying is this…." Jax stepped in front of Cody and took one of his paws in his own two. "Cody, Will you be my mate?" he asked proudly.

Cody sniffed and let a tear roll down his cheek. "Yes, I would be happy to!"

Jax instantly hugged Cody. "I love you!"

"I love you, too!"

And so began the relationship!

* * *

"And that is how Cody and I became lovers," stated Jax. "We've been nothing but happy since!"

Atlas had dang near cried halfway through the story. "That's an amazing and heartwarming story my friend," he sniffed. "I'm happy for you," he said patting Jax on the back.

Jax dipped his head. "Thanks but we've had to keep our relationship locked up because we don't what everyone else would think about that," he explained. "Imagine the hate me and Cody would get? Not just me and Cody, there are others too like: My dad, mom, sister, Ajax and," he said pointing at Atlas. "You would be shamed and hated as well."

Zoe shook her head. "You might think that but you don't really know that. Maybe they are different than you might think," she explained. "You won't know until you tell Ajax. He is the one who needs to know about this or else you and Cody will have to work harder to keep this a secret."

Atlas nodded in agreement. "She's right, you won't know until you ask and Ajax isn't the only one who needs to know this," he stated. "Your family needs to know. This is something that you can't hide from them, especially your father."

Jax scoffed. "Like they'll love me after I tell them, I'll be a joke to them," he said sarcastically. "My father wouldn't think of me as his child anymore."

Atlas wasn't in the mood for bad attitudes and he stepped in front of Jax. "Listen here, buddy!" he demanded. "I may not know a lot about your mother or sister but I know everything there is to know about your father. And trust me, he is way more accepting than you might think. Granted, he might see you differently through his eyes but that won't change the fact that he loves you."

"What if he doesn't though?" Jax asked demandingly.

Zoe stepped in front of Jax as well. "If that happens to be the case and he doesn't accept you then we'll continue to support you." She hugged Jax. "You're our friend and we'd hate to see you rejected by everyone else, especially family."

"Really, you'd do that, for me and Cody!" he responded

Zoe and Atlas both nodded proudly. "You have my undying support, Jax," said Atlas. He took Zoe's paw in his. "I mean, you have our undying support."

Jax was beginning to cry happily. "What did I have to do to get friends like you?"

Atlas placed a paw on his own chest. "I had to get multiple life threatening injuries, be associated with your dad, be apart of the group that shot you," he snickered. "and she grew up with you."

Jax punched Atlas in the shoulder. "You are a real smart ass, aren't you?"

Atlas shrugged. "Maybe a little," he joked.

Jax squinted his eyes in disbelief. "Maybe more than just, a little," he retorted. He then looked at Zoe. "How did you know about me and Cody?"

Zoe smiled. "You don't think I didn't notice you sneaking off in the middle of the night. The odd smell you carried back with you. Or when Cody visited you everyday. And, yeah, I know you two have done it in the recovery den. You two aren't exactly the quietest when it comes to that sort of thing."

Jax's cheeks turned red in embarrassment. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said defensively. "Atlas, if we had done it in the den, wouldn't you have heard us?" He looked at Atlas for help.

Atlas only shuddered in discomfort. Did they really get dirty in the same den I was in? "I've been on heavy pain meds since my surgery and they tend to blur out my senses and practically put me in a coma every time I go to sleep," he explained. "So, I'm going to play the safe route and just sit this one out," he said stepping back a few feet.

"Of course he would say that," growled Jax under his breath. He just shrugged. "I'm so embarrassed!" he put his face under his paws.

Zoe snickered. Remember, she has the fierceness of a lion and the mind of a chimp. If she wanted to get you, she could do it easily. To her, Jax was easy prey; just enough to keep her satisfied but not over the top to bore her. "Should have been quieter, Jax," she stated. "Or else I would have kept it to myself"

Jax uncovered his face and hissed under his breath. "I kept telling him we shouldn't do it there but nope he just kept telling me, "But I feel like doing it here", and I was stupid enough to listen. Oh, I am going to hurt him now!"

"Make sure you do it quietly," she whispered jokingly

Atlas stepped in between the two. "Alright, love, let him live with the dignity he has left," he chuckled. "For now," he mumbled under his breath. He looked at his shadow and noticed it was starting to become more duller by the minute; the sun was setting soon. "Come on, let's get home before it get too dark out, and Jax," he said getting Jax's attention. "Keep the sexual stuff to yourself," he snickered before bolting down the trail with Zoe close behind.

"But I didn't even start this," he called out, but Atlas and Zoe were already to far away.

They might support me but boy am I never going to live this down, He thought before taking off down the trail.

The journey home coming ever so closer to a close!

* * *

Ajax had told Chase that he found Chase to be very resourceful and hardworking that he promoted him to Alpha status. And with new status came new special perks. Because of it, Chase had gotten to pick out his own private cave where he and his family would be staying. But this cave lay barren and lifeless at the moment. Everest and Holly were busy searching for Atlas, Zoe and Jax while Chase stood on a cliff edge outside of the caves. But this one was special!

The cliff edge was like a deck. It had only one entrance which was from the caves and it had one of the most spectacular views Chase had ever seen. He had isolated himself from everyone because he was in need of a certain thing: space. Whenever Chase needed to think or be alone, he would come out onto this cliff and stare out at the wonders it held.

From the cliff, Chase could see for miles. He could see the ocean as clear as day and if he was lucky, the oceans heavy winds would end up in the park, where Chase could get that salty air smell that he strangely liked. He didn't know why but it always reminded him of when he was young and still in the PAW Patrol. "Boy, do I miss the good old days," he said gratefully.

He could also see, between the ocean and the cliff, a vast variety of trees and rivers. And way down the mountain, he could see the parking lot where he began his journey to find Everest, which ultimately led him to finding his new home. "Not a day will go by, that I won't regret my decision," he said.

He took in a deep sniff through the nose and took in all the wonderful smells of the mountain air. But he picked up the scent of something new, something foreign to this cliff, something familiar to Chase. He turned to see Ajax staring at him worryingly. "Oh, it's just you," he exclaimed. "What's up?" He returned his gaze back towards the view.

Ajax shook his head and walked towards Chase. "Nothing, I just thought you needed some company." He took a seat next to Chase. "Was I foolish to come keep you company?"

Chase shook his head and stared at his pack leader. "Never, you are always welcome to keep me company. I just…," he sighed, throwing his paws in the air. "I guess I just have a lot of things on my mind right now," he explained.

"Like what?" Ajax asked, becoming intrigued. "You know it's my job to help others, right?"

"Yeah, I know," he agreed. "Which is why you're the perfect dog to talk to," he explained.

Ajax dipped his head in thanks. "So, what's on your mind?"

"I'm just worried about Atlas," he stated. "He wants to join but I don't know if he is prepared to take on that challenge?"

"Why do you say that?" asked Ajax curiously.

"Because when I told him that I had joined, he became infuriated. And Atlas doesn't anger very easily which is why it got stuck in my head. So when I told him that he could join, he completely lost it. He began to ramble about how I would shame my family for joining a pack of wolves and how his family would miss him dearly. Then he had his near death which made him more comfortable with joining. He went from hating the idea of joining to embracing it within a day. And as much as I want him to become one of us, a part of me tells me that he shouldn't"

Ajax nodded. "I see," he said calmly. "And you were the one to bring up joining?"

Chase nodded. "I did, yes"

"And you mentioned had mentioned you already joined?"

Chase wasn't putting the puzzle together. "I'm not following you!"

Ajax looked Chase in the eye. "Don't you see, that's why he wants to join," Ajax blurted out.

'How?" asked Chase with a confused look.

"Chase, wake up and smell the deer meat. He feels motivated to join so he doesn't lose you. He cares about protecting you and being there for you. He doesn't want to lose you as his friend"

"He wants to join because he doesn't want to lose me," Chase whispered. And two and two were put together to make four. "I never would have thought of that, thank you Ajax. You're really good at what you do!"

Ajax shrugged. "Been doing this a long time, you pick it up through time and experience," he stated blankly like it was no big deal.

"CHASE, CHASE, CHASE," screamed a voice coming out onto the cliff. Chase and Ajax turned towards the new voice.

It was Everest!

Chase quickly ran up to her. "What is it, love?"

"It's them! Atlas, Zoe, and Jax. They've come back!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Chase rhetorically "Let's go see where they ran off to" he said, leading the charge into the cave, leaving the cliff empty.

* * *

Once they made it to the hub clearing, Chase noticed the crowd surrounding Atlas, Zoe and Jax. None of the crowd turned to see him. He bit his tongue in annoyance as he tried to push his way through the crowd. But he wasn't successful as the crowd was packed tightly together.

"The crowd is too packed together," he exclaimed. "I can't get through"

Ajax walked up to Chase. "Let me help you with that," he said. Ajax walked up to the crowd and began moving wolves out of the way. "ENOUGH!" he shouted, and the whole clearing went silent. He didn't even flinch when all eyes were trained on him. "Don't you have any thing better to do?" he asked rhetorically. "I want everyone besides you three...," he said pointing at the returning group; Atlas, Zoe and Jax. "To vacate the clearing right now."

The crowd began to disperse and return to their former duties. But a few defiant, young wolves still remained where they were standing. Chase noticed this and barred his teeth. "You should know better than to ignore your pack leader," he growled

The young wolves eyes turned from defiant to fearful real quick. They shifted uncomfortably and began to shuffle their way out of the clearing. That left only the following: Chase, Ajax, Atlas, Jax, Zoe and Everest.

Everest walked up to Chase. She noticed he was tense and licked his cheek. "I have things to take care of. I will see you later, okay!"

"Okay," Chase said understandingly. "See you later tonight." He kissed her cheek and watched her leave. I'm going to have some fun later, he thought hopefully. Chase turned his head back towards the group. He hugged each one of them individually. "Where were you guys?" He asked. "We started to get worried"

Zoe stepped forward. "It's my fault," she admitted. "I had a lot of…..things on my mind and I ran off." She gave Atlas a little smile. "So these two came and found me, so I would return home."

Ajax was frustrated. "You know you shouldn't go out into the forest without telling anyone," he explained. "Especially someone your size, Zoe. What would have happened if you were injured out there? A bear or a mountain lion would have made a meal out of you." He hugged her tightly. "Your place in this pack is too important and it would be a shame to lose someone to valuable."

Zoe nodded. "I know and I understand but like I said, I had things on my mind." It wasn't her first lecture but it was the first time Ajax ever brought her size into the equation. Her ears and tail drooped sadly.

Jax walked up to her and placed a paw on her shoulder. "Don't take it personally, you know those things won't get the best of you," he whispered into her ear.

Atlas stepped forward. "Ajax, with all do respect. Don't you think you are going a little hard on her. After all, she is a healer. So she can leave the cave whenever she feels like it. You know for herbs and other medical ailments. Therefore giving you no authority over what she does."

Chase was attempting to step in between them before it got ugly but Ajax stopped him. "You dare question my authority, Atlas. After all we've done to help you, you turn around and tell me what I can and cannot do. And here I thought I was getting another respectful pack member, like Chase. But it seems I got another defiant wanna be. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Atlas smiled. "When do I get started?"

Ajax was stunned. "What do you mean get started?" He thought he was going to get a sarcastic response. But this response wasn't that, it was filled with curiosity and wonder.

"I'm asking you when I join the pack." He looked into Zoe's eyes. "I want to know when I can start my second life."

Chase noticed the eye contact between the two. "Is there something I should know about you two?" he asked semi-knowingly. "I've noticed you two have been closer since your near death experience. I'm starting to think you two are more than just friends."

Ajax was perplexed. "Chase, what are you saying?" He looked at Zoe and Atlas and wasn't seeing the connection.

Chase looked at Atlas. "Care to expand on that, my friend," he said with a wink.

Zoe leaned on Atlas and took his paw in her own. "Atlas asked me if when he joins the pack if I would…..," she paused and looked deeply into Atlas's green eyes. She was amazed at how green they were and got lost in thought.

"Ahem," coughed Ajax. "Asked you if you would, what exactly?"

Atlas took in a deep breath. Here it goes, he thought. "I asked her if she would take me as her mate, when I join," he said proudly but winced when he realized that may not be okay. He looked at Ajax. "I hope that doesn't go against any traditions that you might have around here."

Ajax stood frozen in place. A smile began to form on his face. "That's wonderful news to here!" he exclaimed. "And no I don't have any rules or traditions on mates. Now that you mentioned it, I'm surprised that I don't see any males taking a liking for each other. I wouldn't care to have them around."

"Really," said Atlas happily. He turned to see Jax with a hopeful look on his face. "So you don't have an issue with gay pairings."

Ajax shook his head. "They are still pack members. Granted, they can't exactly reproduce with each other but it doesn't make me disappointed in a pairing like that."

Atlas and Zoe both looked at each other and said nothing. The same thing was going through their mind: Jax. "Well, we've been talking quite a bit but Jax hasn't even talked to Chase yet." He looked at Jax, who glared at him angrily. "We'll see you in the morning," he said, gesturing for Zoe to follow.

"I'm with you on that one," yawned Ajax. "I got things to do in the morning that cannot be missed. Good night," he explained as he walked out of the cave.

Jax let out an annoyed sigh as he watched Ajax, Atlas and Zoe all lave the cave. Leaving only him and Chase. Oh, I am so going to kill Atlas, he thought.

Chase heard the sigh. A sigh he was all to familiar with. "Something on your mind?" he asked taking a seat next to his son. "You know you can tell me, I won't judge. Unless you ask me to, of course." He added with a chuckle to which Jax didn't join in on. He grabbed his son on the shoulder. "Son, I promise you that I can keep a secret. I don't like to gossip about others, it's really rude."

"It's just that last topic Atlas brought up," explained Jax. "The gay pairing one."

"What about it?" asked Chase.

"I want to tell you but I'm afraid you'll disown me for it," Jax said in distress. But what he didn't know was that Chase already knew about Jax's secret.

Chase knew he had to tell Jax what he already knew. "It's about Cody, isn't it?" he asked

Jax froze. "How do you know about me and Cody?" His head was racing with thoughts. What else did Chase know? How does he know? What does he think of me? Many of those questions were hidden among the thoughts.

Chase chuckled as he gave his son a friendly shove. "I'm a father, Jax. It doesn't take me long to figure out what my kids are up to. Especially when it comes to a love life."

"When did you figure it out?"

"When Cody visited you in the den after Atlas's death thing. I watched him kiss you on the forehead and sing to you. It was a beautiful moment!"

Jax gulped. "So does that mean you know about me and him, you know, performing certain acts perhaps…" he said worryingly. He didn't want to have to say the word unless he had to.

Chase nodded. "I caught on to it but I did nothing about it, you know why?" he asked rhetorically. "I didn't want to destroy your relationship with him. And also, I got kind of grossed out, not gonna lie."

"Does this mean you approve of my relationship with him?" he asked hopefully.

Chase didn't even hesitate with his answer. "Son, I would love if you had an intimate relationship to a squirrel." He dipped his head. "Yes, I approve but as long as this relationship doesn't take away all the things that make you, you," he explained. "Can you promise me that, Jax?"

Jax looked into his fathers eyes. "I promise," he said giving his father a hug. "I love you, dad!"

"And I love you, my baby boy!" responded Chase.

* * *

 **This is the first chapter to ever actually get me to tear up. And when I mean tear up, I mean waterfalls pouring out my eyes. It can get emotional like *Finger Snap* that! But I guess that means I have a deep connection with my story. NEW QUESTIONS!**

 **WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE CHAPTER?**

 **WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE OC?**

 **WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT?**

 **DO YOU LIKE LONG CHAPTERS?**

 **I don't have any good questions for this chapter but that's okay. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.**

 **I'LL MAKE YOU GUYS A DEAL IF THIS STORY GETS 100 REVIEWS, I'LL POST A LIST OF CHARACTERS THAT WILL STAR IN THE MY NEXT STORY: K9 SPECIAL FORCES: A WAR DOG STORY! MAKE IT HAPPEN, I'D LIKE TO SHARE IT WITH YOU GUYS.**

 **ONLY TWO MORE CHAPTERS LEFT!**

 **Can't wait to finally complete my first story! See you guys in the next chapter!**

 **Atlas Out!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry but I don't have anything to announce. Maybe at the end of the chapter, all depends. So Here is the next chapter for you guys. Enjoy.**

 **THIS CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE SHORTER THAN USUAL, BUT WHATEVER "NORMAL" LENGTH I DON'T DO IN THIS WILL LIKELY BE ADDED ONTO THE NEXT CHAPTER. SO NEXT CHAPTER MIGHT BE NEAR 8,000 OR 9,000!**

 **This chapter and next chapter take place on the same day.**

 **For a heads up on additional content, make sure to follow/favorite the story and me as an author.**

 **WELCOME TO CHAPTER 20 OF BRING HER HOME!**

* * *

It had been a week since Atlas and Zoe's announcement as mates….

A week since Jax came out of the closet as gay…..

A week since he told his father…..

A week since the pack found out….

When Ajax addressed the pack about their newfound relationship, Jax and Cody stood in awe at how supportive he actually was of their relationship. And the things he said helped gain full support from the pack. Such things including full respect, bravery, and ambition. The ambition part of the speech stood out to Jax. He didn't think of his relationship with Cody as ambitious but he could see why Ajax would say that.

Jax was amazed at how the pack was accepting of his relationship with Cody. He never would have thought it as a thing that the pack would easily accept. But he was wrong. Granted, a few females were disappointed that he was taken by someone else. But what really made him surprised was Ajax fully supporting Cody.

Jax and Cody were the first male pairing to be in the pack ever. Ajax admired that and them for their ambitious path. But he warned that it may be a difficult path for them; the same thing he said to Atlas and Zoe. But Jax didn't mind a challenge as long as he got to be with Cody publicly.

Chase had started to spend more time with Jax. It was his way of reconnecting with his son. He was very open and honest about Jax and Cody if the topic ever came up. He welcomed Cody to the family with open arms and treated him like his own. Cody now slept in the same cave as Jax, which was also Chase's family cave. And today was a brand new day and it was time to get back into everyday life.

Chase, as usual, was the first to wake up. It was the one of the few thing that he didn't leave behind when the PAW Patrol disbanded; his inner early riser. He let out a big yawn and looked around the dark cave. He could see Jax and Cody in a nest on the far side. The faint snores showed they were still asleep. Closer to Chase in an adjacent nest lay Holly. Her dark fur making her nearly invisible in the cave. It was like she wasn't even there. But her one flaw was that she was a very active dreamer and her dreams reflected upon her actions when she slept. This time, however, was a bad dream, judging by the occasional yip or whimper.

Parent mode went into a full body overhaul, turning Chase into the protector; like all dads should be. He stepped lightly out of the nest he shared with Everest. His mate was curled up in the tightest ball he had ever seen. How does one bend like that, he thought as he walked quickly over to Holly. He began to stroke her fur and talked softly to her. "Your okay," he said quietly. "It's just a bad dream. Fight it, bend it to your will and make it good again."

Holly slowly began to start taking back her dreamscape and lay silent. Her tail giving the occasional wag.

She had won!

"That's my Holly," he said proudly with a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well, baby girl. See you in a little while," he said as he slipped out of the cave.

He headed straight for the opposite side of the cave system, where there lay another cliff. This is where he headed every morning to watch the sun rise. Every once and a while, he would see someone had already beat him to it. But that wasn't the case on this occasion.

* * *

The cliff lay dormant and barren. Its smooth rock surface had a cold temperature to it, making Chase shiver deeply. "Not as cold as yesterday," he always joked. He took a seat near the cliff edge, where he placed his tail over his paws and let his mind run wild. Letting his thoughts run rampant helped warm up his brain. It made him feel more comfortable with his thoughts and his mind. He shut his eyes when a bright light began to shine over the distant mountains.

The sun was rising. It's light travelling faster than anyone could ever imagine. Along with the light brought the warmth, the heat, the soothing part of the morning. The sun light fully engulfed Chase causing a dark shadow to cast on the rock wall behind him. "Good morning, sun!" he greeted. "It's about time you showed up. I was beginning to think you wouldn't for a moment. But you know me, always early to see you shine."

"Talking to the sun again, I see," joked a voice behind him.

He turned his head and saw Atlas standing there smiling at him.

"One day, Atlas. You'll admire the sun the way I do," said Chase.

"Oh, I do!" he exclaimed. "I just don't talk to it the way you do." Atlas walked up to Chase and gave him a friendly shove. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great! Best sleep I have had in years," he said while looking at Atlas. "Holy hell, what up with your fur." The light had revealed Atlas's fur to be, literally, a walking bed head. Fur spiking up all over the place and faded out with a dull black color. "Something happen last night?" asked Chase with a playful nudge.

Atlas was blushing deeply but that was the benefit of dark fur; it hid blushing well. "Let me just tell you this," he said. "When Zoe wants to get down, she isn't afraid to get down. And boy was she crazy last night." He took in a deep breath as though last night had scared the living day lights out of him.

"Are you sure you like this girl?" Chase teased.

"What do you think?" retorted Atlas. "It's not everyday you meet that perfect someone."

Chase shrugged. "Couldn't of said it better myself." He gave Atlas a shove. "You got a big day today, official initiation into the pack. Excited?"

Atlas shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I am but I still can't believe I am doing this." He sniffed. "What about my family, Chase?"

Chase put a reassuring aw on Atlas's shoulder. "I got you covered buddy," he said reassuringly.

"How?" asked Atlas, half upset half curiously.

"Before Marshall left, I told him to contact our families and tell them we started new lives. That they don't have to worry about us anymore. That we are happy."

Atlas froze in confusion. "This is before I made my decision to stay," he explained. "What made you think I was going to stay?"

"Atlas, let's face it," Chase said. "You know you wouldn't work with anyone but me. Because I am the only one you trust." Chase looked into Atlas's green eyes. "Am I wrong?"

Atlas shook his head and drooped immediately drooped it; he knew Chase was right. But that doesn't mean he wasn't the slightest bit agitated with Chase. "So you figured I would stay because I have trusting issues. Why on earth do you think I am staying?" he snapped. "I trust everyone here, especially Zoe." He barred his teeth at Chase

Chase took a step back. He had just sparked Atlas's evil side; something that he rarely ever did but when he did, he knew he was screwed. "Atlas, I realize you are angry but you need to relax. You know I always look out for you, right?" But he saw he wasn't getting through to Atlas. In return, he began to growl and show his fangs. "You are really going to fight me, aren't you?"

"If it gets anything through that thick skull of yours," he growled. "Then yeah, I am going to fight you."

"Fair enough," exclaimed Chase, putting his body in a fighting stance. "Ready when you are."

Almost instantly, Atlas lunged at Chase and tackled him to the ground. Chase used his hind legs to push Atlas over him before he even took a swipe at him. Chase was back on his feet. "What happened? Last night make you soft," mocked Chase. "Come on, hit me!"

Atlas took another lung at Chase, this time going for the mid chest. Chase couldn't duck low enough to avoid Atlas's body and was pinned to the ground. Atlas began to dig his claws into Chase's chest and kicked him with his hind legs. "Now look where you are?" growled Atlas. "On the bottom, where the weak belong."

Chase began to scream in pain as claws pierced his skin. He looked up into Atlas's eyes, while trying to deal with pain. He was shocked ta how much rage Atlas's eyes held. The green of them seemed to turn red with fire. A fire strong enough to destroy an entire ecosystem. A burning intent to kill! Chase was having enough of this fighting and kicked his hind leg up in Atlas's belly.

The force of the hit knocked the wind out of Atlas's lungs, making him easy for Chase to throw off. Chase was on top this time. He looked into Atlas's eyes once more. They were filled with fear and regret, not a fiery rage like they were prior. But Chase had to get his point across. He raised a paw in the air and fully extended his claws. His muscles began to tighten up to prepare for a swipe. He began to swing his paw down towards Atlas. _It must be done_ , he thought

"STOP," screamed a voice.

Chase immediately stopped to turn his head. And his mind began to race. There were two dogs. Both were familiar to Chase.

The dogs standing in the cave entrance were Jax and Holly. Their facial expressions filled with fear.

Chase got off of Atlas and looked at Jax and Holly in worry. "I can explain," he said taking a step forward.

Holly coward in fear behind her brother. While Jax glared at his father. "I think you've explained enough. You were going to kill him. Weren't you?"

Chase dropped his head in shame. Had he really gone that far? Was his mind intent on killing Atlas? "No, you don't understand," he whispered. Atlas stepped in front of him with depressed expression.

"Is it true?" asked Atlas. "Were you going to kill me?"

Chase shook his head. "No, I would never think of doing such things. Atlas, you now me better than that."

"Do I?" retorted Atlas. "Because what I just witnessed first hand, you looked like you were going to kill me."

"I wasn't though," whimpered Chase. "You should know that I can't ever bring myself to kill again. Not after what happened with Trey." Chase was beginning to cry at the horrible memory. The things other officers said raced through his mind.

"Punk, got what he deserved!"

"Should've dropped the gun!"

"It was his life over yours. Yours being more important!"

Chase looked at Atlas sadly. "I live that day every night when I sleep. It never goes away and I can't stop it," he cried. "I just don't have the will to kill anymore."

Jax got that last part. "Dad, what are you saying?" He began to get a sad look. "What ever you think of doing next, don't do it. We'll find another way."

Chase shook his head. "No, there isn't!" He took a glance at the cliff edge. "Take care of your sister for me" He slowly began to walk towards the edge.

Atlas knew what Chase was thinking of doing next. "Chase, don't you dare do what I think you are doing. What happened to living a second life? Or looking for Everest?" He realized how he was going to get Chase to stop what he was thinking of doing. Atlas inched his way back to Holly and leaned to her ear. "Get your mother, she might be the only one to get him to think straight."

Holly said nothing as she disappeared into the cave.

Atlas returned his gaze back to Chase, who had stopped feet from the edge. "Would you want to do this to her? Make her…feel sad and depressed for the rest of her life. The moment you walk over that edge, the life of this pack is soon to diminish."

"Why would you say that?" cried Chase. "I'm just another face in the crowd."

"But Chase, you proved yourself to the pack. Some are seeing you as the next pack leader." Atlas knew for a fact that what he said was true. A variety of wolves ranging from old to young all agreed that Chase would make a great pack leader. "You wouldn't want to prove them wrong by killing yourself, would you?"

Chase shook his head. "No, I wouldn't." He took a glance at the edge of the cliff. "But then I'd have to live with that regret for the rest of my life. I killed him, Atlas." He cried

"Chase, you have to understand that you did what you had to do. You followed protocol, like a good cop should. If you hadn't shot him, he would have killed either one of us, maybe even both of us." Atlas's ears perked at the sound of scuffling feet.

"Where is he?" cried a voice. "Where is Chase?"

Atlas turned and saw that Holly had returned with Everest. He noticed that Everest had a look of desperation on her face. _What exactly did Holly tell her?_ He thought. "Everest, he is okay!" he reassured. Atlas motioned for Everest to come to him.

"Everest, what are you doing here?" croaked Chase, finally noticing Everest.

"I'm here for you, baby," she responded but didn't make eye contact.

Once Everest was at Atlas's side, he leaned toward her. "I need you to help him. I don't seem to be getting through to him and I can't say anymore or else he might jump," he explained with a sniff. "He needs to talk to someone he can really trust."

"What about you? Aren't you his best friend?"

Atlas shrugged. "I'm not sure what to call our relationship anymore."

Everest nodded her head. "I'll get him to listen," she exclaimed. She placed a paw on Atlas's paw. "It'll be okay!"

Atlas nodded and stepped back to where Jax and Holly were sitting. "Come on," he implored. "Lets leave them to talk."

Jax and Holly only nodded as they turned and headed back into the cave. Jax made one final glance over his shoulder; it may be the last time he saw his father.

Atlas brushed up against Jax. "He'll be okay," he reassured. "He is in good paws." But the thought lingered in his mind.

I hope Everest can get him to think, he thought as he led Jax and Holly deep into the caves.

* * *

Chase and Everest stood a few feet apart from each other. The wind was blowing lightly and their fur waved. But the mood was still the same as before: scary.

Chase sniffed. "What are you really out here for, Everest?" he demanded.

"I came to stop you from making a decision you will regret," she snapped. Everest was in the state of sadness, where she uses anger instead of sympathy. "What are you thinking of doing?"

Chase gulped at Everest's sudden hostility. He glanced back at the edge. "I was planning on seeing what it is like to be a bird." In other words, he was going to kill himself.

"Why would you think of doing that Chase? Did I do something wrong?" Everest had to get an answer, it was her only way of saving him. "Holly told me what happened between you and Atlas. Can you tell me why you two fought?"

Chase shook his head. "I brought up his initiation ceremony and then he brought up the topic of family," he explained. The edge was feeling very tempting. "I then brought up the fact that I told Marshall to tell our families that we found new lives. Before Atlas decided to stay."

"That's a really silly reason to fight? Wouldn't you think?"

Chase shook his head. "It's not the fight I am contemplating life on," he responded.

"What is Chase?" Everest moved slightly closer; she felt a tingle that signaled something might happen. "It's okay, you can tell me."

"Remember the story I told you about two weeks ago. The one about Trey White."

"The kid you shot?" she responded perplexed. "What about him?"

"I keep having nightmares about that day. I regret my decision to shoot and kill him. But I had no choice. Everyday I wake up and I see him everywhere." He turned to the cliff edge. "I can't live with that pain or distress anymore."

Everest's eyes cried out in sadness. "So that's it, huh," she snapped. "You came all the way out here to find me. Now you found me and now you want to kill yourself because of something you did in the past." She sniffed and took in a deep breath. "You have children, Chase. Children that love you for who you are. You wouldn't want to destroy their lives by taking yours now would you? They'd be crushed for the rest of their lives."

"At least I can die knowing you are safe," he responded as he began to walk to the edge. As he approached the edge, he took one final glance at Everest. "I'm sorry," he said as he prepared to jump.

"WAIT!" she cried. "You can't jump."

"And why is that?" he demanded, stopping right in the edge. His toes were hanging over. He was intent on jumping. "Why shouldn't I jump?" he cried.

"Because your going to be a father, Chase" she exclaimed

Chase turned and looked directly into her eyes. "What did you say?" he asked as he slowly walked towards her.

Everest's mood lit up; she got Chase away from the edge. "I'm pregnant," she exclaimed happily

* * *

 **Like I said, short chapter! But it was planned out and the next will be not only the conclusion to this wonderful story, but my LONGEST CHAPTER YET!**

 **I can't wait to wrap up this story and I have good news. I am going to get this story made into a hard copy book. SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET ONE, PM ME AND I'LL TELL YOU HOW YOU CAN GET ONE. I'M ONLY DOING A FEW OF THEM.**

 **NEW QUESTIONS?**

 **What makes this story unique? (Legit answer please)**

 **What can I do to improve this story and future stories to come?**

 **What makes a good ending to a story?**

 **Well that's a wrap for this chapter. Hope you guys liked it.**

 **ONE CHAPTER LEFT! (Sorry Chase loves Everest, but the story is ending next chapter)**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you to see you in the next one.**

 **Atlas out!**


	21. Apology: Review Related

**Hey, I'm sorry that you guys couldn't review the last chapter. So I am putting this in so you can! That's all I have for you. Next Chapter won't be up for a long time because of it's sheer size and length. Here are the questions again so you don't have to go back and forth between chapters.**

 **What makes this story unique? (Legit answer please)**

 **What can I do to improve this story and future stories to come?**

 **What makes a good ending to a story?**

 **Atlas Out!**


	22. The Finale

**This is it!**

 **The final step to completing an epic journey!**

 **The journey being this story!**

 **I can't thank you guys and gals enough for what you have done to this story. Your reviews have made me laugh, cry, some of them even rip my hair out. But you know, that's where I get my inspiration from. Without you guys, the last chapter would have ended tragically.**

 **And the way the inspiration is going and how it affects the story. This story is shaping up to have an awesome sequel. In fact, I am planning on starting it once Ranger Pup completes his first chapter of K9 Special Forces: A war dog story. It'll give me something to share with you while he gets his stuff done.**

 **So expect a chapter to appear from me when that time comes.**

 **And LodShepherd: I was amazed at the length of that review you left. It touched me deeply. Which is why you are one of few people that will get an autographed hard copy of this story. Thanks man! (Expect details in the near future!)**

 **THIS CHAPTER WILL BE THE FIRST CHAPTER IN A WHILE TO HAVE A FLASHBACK WHEN THE PAW PATROL WAS STILL TOGETHER. (YOU'LL HAVE TO READ TO FIND OUT)**

 **Well, I got a long chapter to write out. It's easy for you guys, all you have to do is read it. LOL! I'm going to try to push the story out to 9,000 words. If details get the better of me, which they really have, then this story could be upwards of 12,000 words. Wish me luck! AND IF IT CUTS OFF SHORT, IT MEANS I'M DEAD BUT THAT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!**

 **(DISCLAIMER: I DON'T PLAN ON MAKING EVERY CHAPTER, IN FUTURE STORIES, THIS LENGTH, ONLY FINALE CHAPTERS!)**

 **!WELCOME TO THE 21ST AND FINAL CHAPTER OF BRING HER HOME!**

* * *

There are many things on earth that can make life so much better. Whether it be getting a full scholarship to Harvard or winning the lottery. But those are material things; something that isn't necessary but it makes life easier. A new addition to the family is where the real excitement is at. And nothing on earth will ever change the fact that your wife or mate is going to have a baby.

Chase was completely surprised at what Everest just told him. He was going to be a father. He thought he may have been hallucinating or maybe having a conniption. He had to know for sure what she said was true. "What do you mean you're pregnant?" he asked in disbelief. He had moved away from the cliff edge. "I don't get it. Is this some kind of joke or lie!"

Everest's eyes stared confusingly at her mate. "What else is there to get Chase? I'm going to have another baby. It's not something I can exactly lie about. Aren't you happy for us?" In her mind, she had thought Chase would have collapsed to the ground in excitement. But he wasn't, he was acting strangely. Stranger than she had ever seen him; it was like the Chase she loved was no more. Gone! Adrift in space, for no one to find. "Chase, you're acting strange," she said bluntly with a pinch of remorse and sadness.

Chase's brown eyes looked back towards the cliff edge. He could see now that he couldn't do it. As much as his mind told him to do it, he fought back and all thoughts finally became clear once more.

As clear as day!

As clear as a mountain spring!

He returned his gaze back towards Everest. His mind clear and pure. With children on the mind. He gulped deeply. "I'm going to be a father?" he asked in a whisper. He walked up to Everest and stopped before their noses touched. He inhaled her sweet scent, drinking it down like he had never tasted nor smelled something as crisp and refreshing ever in his life. He took her paw in his own, her smooth fur as soft as a sheep's wool. Her claws surprisingly sharp, he actually winced when he took her paw; she had sharpened them recently. "Is it true?"

Everest began to let out small happy tears. Her Chase was back, the old Chase went like it had never existed on this planet in the first place. She nodded proudly. "Yes, Chase!" she exclaimed happily. "It is true!" She lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. She got him pinned and made sure he wasn't going anywhere. Whenever he tried to squirm out of her clutches, all she had to do was extend her freshly sharpened claws. And he would immediately stop squirming. "But you have to promise me something!"

Chase stared into Everest's eyes. "Of course, anything!" he responded without hesitation. He would answer truthfully and honestly as best to his ability. Even if it was the wrong answer, he would tell it. He reached up and kissed her on the lips.

Everest was enjoying this kiss with the "new" Chase. It reminded her of the first kiss they shared when they were still in the PAW Patrol. But this kiss felt so much better and made her feel young again; not that she is getting old or anything. She broke off from the kiss and placed a toe on Chase's nose. "You, have to promise that you will be there when your children come into this world. Even if you are sick, dying or dead. I can't go through the delivery with you not being there again."

When Everest had Jax and Holly, she had no one to share that moment with. The only ones there with her were the Healers at the time but since they did not know her nor her them, it was nothing related to a cherished memory. It was tough on her and had eaten its way into her core memory; implanting a beautiful and lonely image in her mind; something like a brand. That kind of sadness had taken on a toll on her and sure she was still Everest. But in ways, she was someone else. Something else!

"Of course, love!" Chase exclaimed. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." When he learned Jax and Holly were his children, he had regretted his decision to evidently stop looking for Everest. If he had of looked farther and harder, he may have found her before she gave birth. "I'll make sure to be there when the time comes, I promise." He reached up and kissed her again, this time, deeper and with more meaning to back it up.

Everest couldn't believe how much Chase had changed in the past couple of minutes. He went from wanting to kill himself to wanting to kiss me to death, she thought. But she had to make sure he wouldn't do something like it again. She broke off from the kiss, ignoring the whimper from Chase, and looked seriously into his brown eyes. "But you have to promise me one more thing!"

"I'll honor anything you need me to," he said proudly. "As long as it is within reason," he pointed out. If it had anything to do outside his capability, he was going to have to try and make a break for it. He may be a tough guy but an angry mate can destroy the even tougher.

Everest slowly began to start imagining what it would have been like if Chase had of jumped. She imagined running to the edge and trying to reach out and grab him. But his body was just out of reach; close enough that she must have felt at least a few strands of his fur. And she had to watch him fall to the ground as though he were already dead. Her mind and mouth screaming out his name, hoping that something would change. She closed her eyes when it came close to him hitting the ground. As her eyes embraced the dark, the imaginary thud hit her like a freight train.

Everest felt her body shaking and quickly opened eyes. She heard Chase calling out to her, his voice muffled but slowly on the rise to a normal sound. "Are you okay?" he asked, to which Everest started crying. She collapsed onto his chest, knocking the wind out of him. "I just can't Chase, I just can't!" she cried.

Chase put a paw on Everest's cheek, where Everest leaned her face against it. Which seemed to make her relax and calm down. "Now, what can't you do?" He was oblivious to why she was upset, usually, he could figure things like that out but Everest was tough to read sometimes.

Everest sniffed and wiped her eyes. The abundance of loose tears made her paw wet. She laid her head down on Chase's shoulder. "I can't think about losing you Chase!" she whispered. "If you had of jumped, I wouldn't want to stay in a place that has bad memories. I can't have your future children grow up without their father." She looked up into Chase's eyes, which were now distressed and filled with tears just like hers. "Promise me that you won't think of doing something like that again. I don't want to lose you, again."

Chase understood her sadness one hundred and ten percent. He had given her quite the scare because he was in distress and living with killers regret. Instead of saying something, he had to fully show it to her. He took his paws and wrapped them around her. His arms began to constrict, like a green anaconda to its prey, as the gap between them became tighter like they were forming into one body. He held her in his clutches and refused to let go. "I promise you that I won't let go of you so long as we both shall live. I promise to hold you tightly and show my love and appreciation for all that you do. I promise to talk to you, should I find myself distressed. I promise that I won't think of nor attempt something like today ever again." He looked into her eyes. "I am truly sorry for scaring you like I did. It was selfish and wrong of me. It won't happen again."

Everest melted at Chase's speech; like butter sitting at room temperature. "Thank you, Chase! That was sweet and kind of you." She hugged him. "I promise to fully support you and love you for who you are. Not for who you were in the past."

Chase slowly pushed her off and sat up. He shook his fur and looked at Everest. "You know, you and I never really announced ourselves as mates and with this new life comes to a new relationship." He slowly began to take a knee.

Everest's heart started pounding. He is not doing what I think he is doing is he, he thought. But once Chase took her paw in his, she realized that her thought was coming true.

"Everest, my best friend," he began. "With this new life and with new life on the way…," he said placing a paw on her slightly swollen belly. "I figured that this is the only way you and I can push through each other's flaws and conquer all problems between us and our family."

Now it was time to pop the question!

"Everest, will you be my mate, again?" he asked proudly.

Everest smiled wide and held her paws over her mouth. The urge to squeal was overpowering! She nodded. "Yes!"

Chase heard the imaginary minister say, "You may now kiss the bride", which gave him permission to kiss Everest; not like he had already done that today. He leaned in a kissed Everest with a fiery passion. As though he hadn't kissed her in years. "I love you, Everest!" he said when he broke from the kiss.

"I love you too, Chase!" she responded sweetly.

But what really mattered was that her Chase was back and that he was where he should have been all his life.

Home!

* * *

Atlas had stayed with Jax and Holly while they tried to comprehend what just happened in front of them. When they had witnessed their father fighting Atlas, they couldn't believe what he could have done had they not showed up. Chase could have killed Atlas! Now both siblings were having mixed feelings for Chase.

Although he was hurt, none of the wounds on Atlas were life threatening. The worst of his wounds was a torn claw and it didn't even hurt. The rest of the wounds consisted of minor cuts and scratches. But overall, he felt like nothing had happened between him and Chase. Like it was a thing best friends did. But his feelings for Chase weren't as mixed as Jax and Holly's.

Jax was on the verge of treating his father like trash again. The same way he treated him when he first showed up to the pack. He never thought of going back this way when he realized his father was the key figure in life he couldn't live without. But in his mind, he wouldn't have given two shits if his father was a mountain lion; the packs worst enemy. Chase was a role model for Jax to grow on. And seeing a fight between him and his best friend was causing distress for him. But deep down Jax knew that Chase would still be his father.

Holly was near the breaking point where she would be scared every time she saw Chase. The complete opposite from when Chase first showed up. In the beginning, he was sweet, kind and gentle around everyone; especially for her. Holly liked her father since day one. She ate with him, talked with him, loved him, and messed with him. She even slept in the same nest with him for the first few days of his arrival. But seeing him fight his best friend had made her scared of him. She had never seen Chase get that angry before and it frightened her.

Atlas knew he had to keep them comfortable and relaxed. He walked up to them both. An explanation needed to be said, whether they liked it or not. He got himself comfortable and wrapped his tail over his paws. "I know you two are having mix feeling about your dad right now, correct!?" he said blankly.

Jax and Holly both looked at each other in discomfort. But they both nodded a yes.

"Why did he fight you?" asked Holly, who was shaking slightly. "I've never seen him get that angry before."

"Yeah, I thought you two were best friends!' exclaimed Jax. "You two were partners before you came to the pack. Why would you even want to fight."

Atlas fully understood both of their confused questions. But answering one question at a time was going to make it easier on them. He walked up to Holly, who had a distressed look in her eye and body language. But before he spoke to her, he hugged her to show that she didn't need to be afraid, that she was safe. "I'll answer your question first," he said as he let go of her. "I brought up my family back home and he pressed the matter further. Once he did that, a trigger in my head clicked and I got mad at him, Which ultimately ended up with us fighting."

Holly began to stop shaking, her reassurance levels slowly rebuilding; stable enough to keep her emotions contained temporarily. "So you were at fault for the fighting?"

Atlas nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, you can say that but we were both really at fault for it." He hugged her once more. "I'm sorry for scaring you like I did."

Holly only nodded as she released from Atlas and went to sit by her brother. She was going to need time. Time was her ally in the past and it will be her friend now.

Jax took his chance of walking up to Atlas. "Now you have to answer my question!" he said demandingly. "You owe it to us both by just telling us the truth. Why would you even want to fight." He slammed his paw on the ground. The answer was going to be said or else he would have to get by force.

Atlas looked at Jax, his expression as cool as ice. "Careful, Jax!" he warned. "You are walking on thin ice with that attitude. Another step further and you might fall in and drown." He watched as Jax's anger slowly began to subside. "Thank you," he said kindly. "Now, do you remember Marshall, your father's friend?"

"You mean the spotted dog who was hanging around for a little while? The one who brought the weird box thing?" he asked

"Yep, that's him," confirmed Atlas. "Listen, did he tell you any stories from when he and Chase were in the PAW Patrol?" It was going to be easier to explain to Jax a story about him and Chase but he was going to try a different approach. An approach that would get Jax's mind off his dad for a little bit.

Jax shook his head. "I don't think he did, why do you ask?"

Atlas smiled, this would still work. "Well, a while ago before you were born, your father was a member of the PAW Patrol. A special team of rescue dogs that tackled emergencies all across Adventure Bay. But one day, one emergency would change the way your father and Marshall respected each other."

"What happened?" asked Holly curiously. Her shaking body had been traded for an excited one.

Atlas was glad to see Holly all enthusiastic. "Well, Chase has told me this story multiple times so let me start from the beginning….

* * *

It was like any other Sunday in Adventure Bay. The sun was shining bright, its rays reflecting on the relaxed ocean waves. The beaches filled with citizens of Adventure Bay, maybe even a few tourists. Sounds of laughter and joy rang out across the entire beach as kids enjoyed watching the surfers catch some waves. The weather was perfect, minimal cloud cover and a warm 87 degrees yet it called for rain to occur later that evening but people didn't really care. They only cared about enjoying what Sunday they had left. Come tomorrow everyone would be at either school or at work.

But with good days can come great tragedy!

Across town, a fire had engulfed a convenience store. People inside were screaming for everyone to get out of the store. While a few daring citizens were breaking windows to allow for more people to get out. But that is something you should never do. An oxygen-fed fire could easily become unstable and cause a massive fireball. The fire immediately got out of control as soon as the last person got out; but the fire reached out far enough to burn the person's back, causing him to scream in pain. A nearby man quickly got his phone out and went to his contacts.

"Only one team can get this contained," said the man as he clicked on a graphic of a young boy with brown hair.

At the lookout, Ryder was playing a game on his pup pad. He was so into it, he was very close to beating his high score of 106,274. The beads of sweat on his forehead were from his pure concentration. His hands felt like they had been dipped in boiling water. As he was approaching his high score, a call came in through his pup pad which functioned as a phone.

He hissed under his breath that he couldn't beat his high score. But people came first. He pressed on the answer call button. "Hello, Ryder here," he said. It was the first thing he always said to people who called him; it was his personal greeting.

The man on the other end looked distraught and scared. "Ryder, there is a fire at a convenience store. We need help, it has gotten out of control very quick." His voice was filled with worry, especially for the hurt citizen.

"Okay, I need you to clear the area of people and please don't try and fight the fire," he ordered. "My team will handle it, just get the area surrounding it clear. We're on our way," he said clicking the button and ending further communication. He pulled out the call panel from his tablet. Please let them be close by, he thought as he was about to push the button. But he heard the elevator door open and the PAW Patrol jumped out.

"We saw the fire," said Chase. "We've chosen to get here before you called us."

Ryder exhaled thankfully. "Good work, getting here you guys," he said proudly. "I'm afraid there won't be a graphic for this mission, we don't have time. I need all paws on deck for this one. But I will quickly assign duties. As soon as I do that, get right to them, don't wait up for us. Chase," he said pointing to the shepherd. "You keep people out of the way of the fire using your megaphone and cones and help Marshall when he gets there, he'll need it."

"Yes sir, Ryder sir," he responded seriously. Chase immediately went to the slide and down to his vehicle. As he made his way down to the bottom, his truck transformed. Chase landed right in the drivers seat and turned the engine over. The roaring engine was like music to Chase's ears. He put the truck into gear and sped off to the scene of the fire.

Once Chase was across the Adventure Bay Bridge, he immediately saw the cloud of pitch black smoke spreading across the sky. His sirens were on full blast and he hit the gas pedal. The jolt of the sudden speed change making Chase shift uncontrollably, but he remained in control and in the drivers seat. When he arrived at the scene, he couldn't see anyone close to the fire.

He reached behind him and threw out his cones, all of which landed perfectly in a line. They blocked off the street and made any pedestrians keep clear. "Arrf…Megaphone," he commanded and his pup pack deployed the device. "Attention all citizens, please stay away from the fire and stand as far away as possible."

Chase looked back at the fire. It wasn't dying down anytime soon. The fire was slowly beginning to spread across to nearby stores. A loud siren sounded from the crackling of the flames. Chase turned to the sound and spotted an all too familiar face driving a red vehicle.

It was Marshall!

Once Marshall was parked, he cut right to the chase and began to get the fire contained. He threw Chase a hose to attach to a nearby fire hydrant. "You use the hose, I'll use my pack," he ordered. "Arrf, water cannon," he barked, and the device deployed. Marshall quickly began to use his pack and Chase was using the hose.

And the fire slowly began to be contained!

Or so they thought!

* * *

"What does that have to do with you and my dad fighting?" asked Jax confusingly. "All you've really done is just raise more questions than answers."

"I understand, Jax, but you didn't even let me finish," he explained. Atlas's ears perked. "And that isn't even the part where it gets interesting," he explained. "Trust me!"

"Oh, I trust you," he mocked sarcastically. "I've trusted you since the day you got here."

Holly punched her brother in the shoulder. "Can you at least be nice for once in your life?" she demanded frustratingly. She looked at Atlas apologetically. "Please proceed with your story?"

Atlas dipped his head in thanks. "Don't worry about it," he replied smoothly. He understood why Jax was confused. His story was filled with things Jax had never seen nor heard of. "But please, hold all questions until the end," he requested. "Now where was I….," he said recollecting what happened next in the story.

* * *

The whole team was now at the fire!

Skye was using a bucket to scoop water out of a nearby pool with her helicopter. She tried to avoid using salt water as it would, over time, make her bucket corrode. But the pool was slowly beginning to get empty. Also, due to the immense amount of smoke it caused her engines to seize up and clog, which forced her to land. She looked at Rocky, once she landed. "Can you fix it?"

"I'll see what I can do," said Rocky. But after a few minutes of trying to get it all cleaned up, he concluded that the entire engine would have to get taken apart. "Sorry Skye, but your copter is out of commission. There is nothing I can do to get you back into the air immediately." The disappointed look on his face wasn't the only issue.

Rubble had tried to use sand from the beach to contain smaller fires near the building. It was extremely effective. But one fire had lunged at him from a sudden draft of air and burned his skin. The burn wasn't bad but it had scared Rubble; Rubble doesn't scare easily, even though he is the youngest. So Zuma took him to Katie's to get bandaged up. But it made him ineligible to partake in the fire takedown.

So while Skye, Zuma, and Rubble weren't capable of helping, it left only Chase, Rocky, Marshall and Ryder!

Chase was getting fed up with this fire. "When is this thing going to die down?" he asked through gritted teeth. "It hasn't gone down much since we got here."

Marshall shook his head. "It'll die down, trust me," he said as he sprayed the water cannon towards the epicenter of the fire.

At this point, Ryder had gotten information from people who worked in the building. But there was some bad news. "Chase! Marshall! We may have a few complications with this fire."

"Go ahead, Ryder!" said Marshall, not stopping what they were doing.

"What seems to be the issue?" asked Chase with a worried tone.

"First off, this building runs off of a gas line provided by a company here in town," he explained.

"I thought it was shut off the moment the fire alarm was sounded?" exclaimed Marshall. Normally when a fire alarm goes off, the alarm sends out a signal to a shut off switch on the building it provides gas too. It also sends a signal to the company which tells them to shut off the gas in that sector. "It should already be off," mumbled Marshall. "What if it's not off?"

"Forget about it," snapped Chase. "What's the other issue, Ryder?"

"The second is that not all employees are accounted for," said Ryder, his voice filled with fear. "Out of the seven employees scheduled to work, only six made it out."

"Understand you loud and clear, Ryder, but we may have a bigger problem involving the gas line," explained Marshall.

"It doesn't matter right now, Marshall," growled Chase. "We need to get that civilian out if they are still alive."

Marshall sidestepped over to Chase, his eyes full of anger and frustration. "Chase, you might be a team leader, but when an emergency has something to do with anything with fire, I'm in charge," he growled. "So I make the calls, not you!"

"Like hell, you are," sneered Chase. "And like hell you will!"

Ryder quickly separated the two before it got out of hand. "Marshall, is right, Chase," he said as relaxed as possible. "He is in charge while we are still here," he explained. "Now, Marshall, what is the bigger issue."

Giving a quick glare to Chase to make sure he kept his mouth shut, he began. "Now, if this building runs off a gas line, then it has at least a thirty cubic foot reserve tank in case the gas company has a malfunction with its system."

"Yeah but that tank is far away from the building, it shouldn't be an issue," explained Ryder.

Marshall shook his head. "Not these older buildings, theirs is located on the roof," he said pointing to the roof of the building. "And it doesn't run off the same shut-off, it has to be manually shut off by hand."

"What are you saying, Marshall?" asked Ryder with a sign of regret.

"I'm saying that this building could literally explode if we don't get this fire contained. Plus with this missing employee, we have less time to get the fire contained."

"Can you get it turned off Marshall?" asked Ryder hopefully.

Marshall took a glance at the building and pondered for about two seconds. "Yeah, I can do it. I just need my heat suit and truck, that is all."

"Get right on that, now," Ryder ordered. Once Marshall sped off to the back of the building, Ryder spoke to Chase. "Now how do we get the employee out?"

"I can help you with that!" said a new voice. "I might actually have the plan to get him out, sort of!"

It was Rocky!

"What did you have in mind, Rocky?" asked Chase. "But explain quickly, we don't have much time."

Rocky nodded and pulled out the floor plan for the building. "So I did some interviewing with the other employees on the whereabouts of our missing subjects. They all claim that the last place to see him was here," he said pointing to an area on the plans.

"The freezer?" doubted Chase. "Wouldn't that place be filled with smoke by now?"

Rocky shook his head. "Nope, this freezer has its own ventilation and it is air tight. Plus its systems are all on the inside to keep the products from overheating," he explained. "Which is where the sort of part comes in!" he added with a bit of doubt

"What do you mean?" asked Ryder skeptically

"I'm saying you should leave him in the freezer. Not break him out!"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" shouted Chase. "WHAT KIND OF IDEA IS THAT?"

Ryder instantly silenced him and returned to Rocky. "Your reason behind this?"

"This freezer is built out of titanium, five-inch thick titanium. It is super strong and more heat resistant and won't corrode like carbon steel. He'll be safe in there!" Rocky seemed very confident in the idea.

"Ryder, it's Marshall," said the dally through his pup tag. "We have a slight problem with the reserve tank."

"Define slight, Marshall," said Ryder, fearing for the worst.

"Okay, I lied, it's a big problem," said Marshall fearfully. "The tank is massive! It has to be moved. Is there any chance that Skye's helicopter can get it out of here."

Ryder looked at Rocky, who shook his head. "No, Skye's helicopter is top damaged to even take off. We'd do more harm than good!"

"Ryder, I might have an idea," said Chase, who was still fighting the large flames. "What if we leaked the gas out and shot water at it. The gasses will get into the water making it safer. Marshall is there a release to get the gas out?"

"Yeah, there is!" responded Marshall. "I'll get that dealt with."

"Before you do that, Marshall, let Chase help you," Ryder ordered. "You'll need the help." Ryder took a quick glance at Chase. "Get up there, I can handle things down here."

Chase dipped his head and jumped in his rig to go around the back of the building. The fire was becoming more and more contained by the minute, but the reserve gas tank was still a risk to the safety of everyone. As he made his way into the back alley, he quickly spotted Marshall's truck with the ladder extending to the roof. He parked his truck and grabbed an oxygen mask out of the fire trucks storage compartments. Chase quickly put the mask on as his breathing was beginning to start troubling him. The wave of fresh air felt pleasant to Chase's lungs.

"Chase, I need you up here, now!" exclaimed Marshall, who was looking over the edge at him.

Chase got onto the ladder and began to ascend to the roof. The closer he got to the roof, the hotter the ladder became. He winced when he burned his paw on the hot metal. He saw a paw reach out to help him up the last bit of later, which he gladly took. "Thanks, Marshall!" he said quickly. "Sorry for snapping earlier."

"Don't sweat it," he said blankly. He pointed to the reserve tank. "That's the tank."

Chase took a step back to awe at the sheer size of the tank. At least five feet tall, six feet wide and a foot deep. "You weren't kidding about its size!" exclaimed Chase. "This thing is massive!"

Marshall guided Chase to the release valve. "This is where the gas will come out of." He pointed to a wheel. "You'll be on that to release the gas and I'll be firing water at it to capture the escaping gas."

Chase nodded. "Copy that," he said, grabbing the wheel. He winced at the heat of the wheel, but he powered through it. "Ready, when you are," he said as patient as he could be. The burning sensation in his paws was excruciating. "Damn, this thing is hot. And I don't mean that in a good way," he joked.

Marshall chuckled briefly and deployed his water cannon. "Slowly start letting gas out," he ordered. "But be careful not to let so much out at a time. The fire can still get to it and we don't want that."

Chase began to slowly turn the wheel. The quiet hiss of depressurizing gas filled his ears and the splash of water made his pelt slightly wet; not that it mattered, it was dry in seconds. "How long until the gas is completely emptied?" asked Chase curiously. "This heat is killing me!"

Marshall didn't even flinch for the task at paw was to be taken seriously, with both precision and a steady paw. "Well, with the amount you are letting out and the actual size of the tank. I'd say about two more minutes, maybe three."

Chase nodded and sighed relief. "Thank goodness, I thought you were going to say something along the lines of twenty or thirty minutes."

"Nope this honestly won't take that long," said Marshall as he aimed his cannon at the escaping gas.

After about another minute passed, Chase turned his head back to the fire and his eyes flew wide open. "Marshall, we gotta go right now," whined Chase.

Marshall flinched at that comment. "What do you mean, we're so close. We can't bail now."

"Marshall look!" exclaimed Chase, pointing behind him.

Marshall looked to where Chase was pointing and his worst fears were coming true. The fire was starting to spread towards them and it was spreading fast. "Don't worry, we'll be gone before it gets closer."

Chase had other thoughts in mind. He looked at the gauge which showed there was less than ten percent gas left in the tank. "Marshall, we got most of it! Let's go now!" he demanded. He looked at him and saw the fire was three feet away. The heat overpowering him. When Marshall wasn't responsive, Chase quickly shut off the valve.

"What the hell!" snapped Marshall. "We were so close!" His eyes were blazing with rage. He barred his teeth at Chase. "You've made a big mistake. TURN IT BACK ON!" he growled.

Chase looked back at the fire, it was right on top of them. "I won't do it, Marshall, for the safety of both of us."

Marshall barked at Chase. "Fine! I'll just have to do it myself," he said, shoving Chase out of the way. But in his anger, he shoved Chase towards the fire, causing Chase to scream out in pain when it hit his body. Marshall was to determined to get his tank empty before it exploded. He turned the valve on and began to spray it with water.

Chase was on the ground crying and screaming. Marshall had nearly killed him. What kind of friend does that? He watched Marshall spray the escaping gas; he was clearly intent on finishing his work. But what Marshall didn't see was the fire right next to him. Chase jumped to his feet, ignoring the burning pain on his body. He grabbed Marshall and shook him. "WE GOTTA GO NOW!" he screamed as he and Marshall raced for the edge of the building.

They were going to jump!

When they were at the edge, the action came before thought and they jumped off the building. As they jumped, the fire reached the escaping gas and erupted in a great fireball. Sending a mushroom cloud into the sky as far as the eye could see.

Chase and Marshall hit the pavement hard, causing both to scream loudly. But Chase had a bone to pick with a certain Dalmation. He was up on his feet as soon as he hit the ground. His teeth bared in anger and disappointment. Marshall took a risk that he shouldn't have. Chase grabbed Marshall by the scruff and lifted him into the air.

Marshall gasped for air; the impact knocked the wind out of him. "What happened?" he asked warily.

Chase ignored him as he slammed Marshall to the ground. "You don't remember!" he growled. "You nearly killed me up there and then you nearly killed us both when you refused to listen."

Marshall looked up at Chase with sad angry eyes. "It all wouldn't have happened if you weren't such a coward," he retorted, spitting blood on the ground. "All of this could have been avoided but no. You had to get scared for your life and stop the gas release. The police force would be very proud!"

Chase winced at Marshall's words but swung at him, making contact with Marshall's jaw. "I might be a coward, hell, maybe even the king of cowards. But I'd rather live a coward than die a fool. You risked the safety of us both while we were up there. You should be ashamed!"

Marshall regained his footing from the punch and lunged at Chase. Tackling him to the ground and pinning him. "It was my call to make not yours," he growled as he punched Chase in the face. "I thought I knew you better than that, Chase." He punched Chase again. "It seems I was wrong," he added as he went for another swing.

Chase was ready for him as he kicked up into Marshall's gut and threw him off. "And I thought you were my best friend. You threw me into a fire to burn and die. What would have Ryder done if he knew you not only saved the day but murdered me as well." He reached for his holster, where he kept his sidearm. "I don't want to have to do this but you committed a crime up there. And I can't let that go unnoticed!" He pulled the gun out and aimed it at Marshall. "You leave me no choice"

Marshall's face filled with worry. "Chase, what are you doing?" asked Marshall.

Chase ignored him and said three words that would change their friendship forever.

"Your under arrest!"

* * *

Jax was still confused as ever. "Again, what does that have to do with you and my dad fighting?" His face and mind were clouded with confusion. "You've made this situation worse than before!"

"I know and I feared that might happen but it's not the story I want you to know, it's the lesson," he explained.

"What lesson?" asked Holly with a yawn. "And what happened after my dad tried to arrest Marshall?"

"Marshall was put on probation for a few weeks for being reckless and for hurting a friend. After that, his friendship with Chase was fragile. They rarely hung out, played or even talked to each other. They couldn't reignite their old friendship. And that's why I shared it with you." He stared at both Jax and Holly. "Because no matter what happens between me and your father, we won't break up our friendship. Sure we might fight but in the end, our friendship is stronger!"

"But they were nice to each other when he was here," commented Holly. "They didn't seem to have a quarrel with each other."

"It's because both of them grew up and realized that being angry at each other wasn't the answer. Sure they are friends now but both of them won't forget that day. The day a friendship was destroyed!"

"So what does it have to do with us?" asked Jax. "Where does our part in this come into play?"

Atlas fumed in frustration. "I want you guys to forgive and forget!" he explained. "Your father is an important role model in your lives and it would be bad for both of you to push him away. And right now, he needs you more than ever."

Holly gulped. "Was he planning on killing himself?" she croaked. "Because of your fight!"

Atlas felt the fear and worry settle in his soul. He walked up to Holly and hugged her tightly. "He'll be fine! I know your mother will be walking back inside with him anytime now."

"Promise?" cried Holly.

"I promise!" whispered Atlas, stroking Holly's fur. It seemed to calm her down enough to let her go. He looked at Jax who was sitting with his head down. "He'll be okay, kid, I promise," he reassured. His ears perked at the sound of feet entering the cave. He turned and his heart lifted back up.

It was Everest followed closely by Chase!

"Oh thank god!" whispered Atlas, as he ran up to Chase. He grabbed Chase. "I feared the worse, are you okay?"

Chase nodded. His eyes started to water. "Yeah, I'm okay! I'm sorry I did that to you Atlas," he whispered. He looked to Jax and Holly. "I'm sorry I scared you two!" He walked up to them. "Truly I am, I wasn't thinking!"

Holly began to start crying. "I'm just glad that you are safe!" she said lunging at Chase and wrapped her body around him. "I love you, daddy!"

Chase wrapped his arms around Holly and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you too, baby girl!" he looked around for Jax. "Where's your brother?" He asked rhetorically, spotting him instantly. "Jax, you better get over here!" He held out his paw for Jax to take.

Jax looked at Atlas, who took a step back and shrugged. He then looked at his mother, who bared her teeth and growled at him.

"You better get in there or you're going to have me to deal with," she warned. "Trust me, your father knows what I'm talking about," she added with an evil smile at Chase.

Atlas squirmed uncomfortably. "I don't even want to know," he mumbled. "In fact, I should probably go see what Zoe is doing," he said pointing to the cave entrance. "I'll escort myself out," he said as he shuffled out of the cave.

Everyone in the room began to snicker. But Jax was still on the verge of being either hurt by his mother or hugging his father. Chase still held out his paw. "Jax, you gotta trust me on this. I know from experience what your mother will do to you if you don't hug me," he warned with a smile.

"I'm waiting," said Everest impatiently

Jax froze in place. Mainly because of two reasons: fear and curiosity. The fear that his mother would actually hurt him was tingling in the back of his head. But curiosity was there too. He really wanted to know what his mother would do to him. And then it hit him, the logical choice was to do as he was told. He stared at his father's paw and gladly took it, embracing the love from his father and sister. The hug was starting to wreak havoc on his emotions as his eyes were starting to tear up.

Chase was the first to notice him crying. "What's wrong, son?" asked Chase worryingly.

"Nothing!" he sniffed. "I'm just glad you didn't do it!"

"I am too!" whispered Chase nudged both of them, which was the signal to get off of him. "That was wrong of me to do to you. I shouldn't have scared you like that."

"But can I ask what changed your mind?" winced Jax thinking the question came a little too soon. "Too soon!"

"No, it's a fair question!" Chase shook his head. "And well….your mother told me something that made me think about doing it." He looked at Everest who gave a nod of approval. "Can you guess what it is?" he asked as he sat down next to Everest. Chase and Everest both began to intertwine tails and formed smiles on their faces.

Jax and Holly looked at each other confusingly. They both shrugged and shook their heads. "You got us," admitted Holly. "But you still have to tell us!"

Chase looked at Everest. "Do you want to tell them or should I?" he said, clearly stalling the reveal.

Everest looked at him sadly. "But then we won't get to see them suffer from impatience," she faked cried. She nodded her head happily. "We'll tell them together."

"Oh for crying out loud," exclaimed Jax. "Will you just tell us already?"

Chase and Everest looked deeply at their children. Their proud smiles projecting at the beautiful, healthy lives they created. Chase stepped forward. "I just want you to know that no matter what, you will always be our first children." He stepped back to let Everest step up next. "Also, I want you to know that we love you no matter what."

Jax made a confused expression. One eyebrow raised and a blank face. "We know we are your first kids but what does that have to do with anything?"

Chase began to rub Everest's belly in a circular motion. His eyes began to water. "You two are going to be big brother and sister. Your mom is going to have more pups," he cried happily. He watched as both Jax's and Holly's mouths dropped to the floor.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Holly. "Is this a joke?" Her voice was full of overwhelming happiness.

Everest shook her head as she walked up to her daughter. "This is for real. You're going to be a big sister." She hugged Holly as her daughter began to cry into her shoulder. "Why are you crying?" she laughed. "Aren't you excited?"

"I am it's just….," Holly sniffed. "I wasn't expecting you to say that." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "And I can't believe it…..I'm going to be a big sister," she said in disbelief.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" asked Jax, a smile projected across his face. "How many are you having?"

Chase and Everest both shook their heads. "I thought we might do that together as a family," explained Everest. "Because it wouldn't have been fair to you three had I named them myself without your consent."

"Well, I'll be darned!" said a new voice. "Kill me and send me to heaven"

The group turned to see the new character in the room.

It was Ajax! And boy was his face as perky and excited as ever!

"How long were you there. Ajax?" asked Chase seriously. He was hoping he didn't here about the suicide attempt

"I showed up the moment you announce your new family members," he explained. "Congratulations, Everest!"

Everest dipped her head. "Thank you kindly, Ajax!"

Chase looked at Jax and Holly. "Can you leave us to talk with him?" he asked quietly. "We can talk about this all later, okay!"

Jax and Holly nodded their response and bounced out of the cave. The thought of being an older sibling making them extremely happy.

Chase smiled as they left. "What are the odds they tell the entire pack?" he joked. He looked at Ajax. "What brings you around, my friend?"

Ajax inhaled deeply. "Well, I came by for two important things. Well…..one being important and the latter being extremely important," he explained. "Which would you like to hear first?"

Chase decided to take the east route. "The important one, please?" Chase said without hesitation.

"Well, I need to know more information about Atlas. You know for the ceremonies sake and all," he explained. "I want to make a speech that will make the pack accept him easier, you know!"

Chase looked at Everest, who shrugged. "You wouldn't mind leaving us as well, would you?" he mumbled. "You know since you don't know much about Atlas."

Everest nodded. "I understand," she said unoffended. "I'll go find out what our children are doing" she kissed him on the lips and left the cave.

Ajax was amazed at his effort to get her out. "That was impressive!' he complemented. "I thought she would have bit your head off or thrown you off a cliff for that one," he joked.

Chase turned red and laughed uncomfortably; the irony set in like a heavy stone. "Trust me, when the mood swings kick in, I'm going to wish she would," he joked. "What did you ask again? Got lost in the conversation!"

"Oh, I asked if I could get information on…," Ajax began

"Atlas!" interrupted Chase. "That's right. What do you want to know?" Chase knew just about everything there was to know about Atlas. The car he drove his favorite food, favorite movie, catchphrases; the whole nine yards. "Or do you want help making a speech? Because if that's the case then I will explain what made Atlas come to the pack."

"That would be perfect!" approved Ajax. "So tell me! What made Atlas come to the pack?"

"Well, it was about a month ago...," began Chase. The story about how he and Atlas came to be members of the pack. The story of new beginnings and fresh starts. The story where their lives changed forever.

* * *

Later that evening…..

The ceremony was just a few minutes away….

Chase and Atlas were in a cave and Chase was briefing Atlas on how the ceremony was going to go down. "Okay, so let's go over it again on more time," he insisted. "So we don't screw this up, well so you don't screw this up. I'll be rolling on the floor laughing if it does go in that direction."

Atlas exhaled loudly. "Yeah, because that makes me feel much better," he shivered. "Now you got me all nervous about screwing up. Will he not accept me if I do?"

Chase shook his head. "He already accepted you, he just has to make it look official, hence this ceremony." He placed a paw on Atlas's shoulder. "You'll do jut fine, I have faith in you."

"Thanks, buddy," he said with a quick bro hug.

"So when do you approach the stage?" asked Chase.

"When he calls my name!" Atlas answered quickly.

"Where do you approach from?"

"Come right down the center and onto the stage!"

Chase nodded. "Okay, that's all you have to do. Ajax will ask you questions while you are up there. You know, the 'do you really want to join' kind of questions."

"Got it," said Atlas nervously. He gulped. "I can't believe I'm doing this!"

Chase put a paw on Atlas's shoulder. "Think of Zoe while you're up there and why you are doing this for her," he explained. "Okay!"

"Got it, think of Zoe and why it's for her," Atlas responded.

Chase turned his head, where he could see the hub clearing. The stage was built and wolves were already starting to gather. He could see Ajax among the crowd, making his way towards the stage. Chase looked at Atlas one last time. "Alright, you know the drill," he said with a hug. "I'll see you when this is over." And Chase walked out of the cave, leaving Atlas alone to think and get his mind mentally prepared.

Ajax was already on stage by the time Chase got into the crowd. He made his way to the front, where he found Everest, Holly, Jax, and Cody. All of them had clean pelts and sat in an organized line. But he saw Zoe sitting by herself. Chase made his way towards her and began to sit down by her.

"Is he ready?" she asked sternly as he sat down.

Chase nodded. "He knows what he has to do. All we have to do is show our support and hope he makes it through this." He looked at her shining white fur and her sparkling green eyes. But what caught Chase's eye was her slightly bulged belly. Before he let it go to thought, Zoe spotted him checking her out. That's not what I think it is, is it?

"Everything alright, Chase?" she asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"Nothing, it's just….," he peeked her bulged belly again. "You clean up nicely!" he said quickly.

"Thank you!" She looked him over. "I can say the same!"

Chase exhaled deeply. He had to ask her about her belly. Maybe she just ate a big lunch, he thought. He leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Does he know?"

Zoe snapped her head back. "Know what exactly?" she asked fearfully.

Chase flicked his eyes toward her belly. "Does he know about that?"

Zoe sighed as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"You have to tell him, Zoe!" he implored. "He needs to know! When were you planning on telling him?"

"When my belly started to become more noticeable?"

Chase sighed. "I think that if he is the father, you need to tell him after the ceremony. Is that too much to ask?"

Zoe shook her head. "No, it's not!" she mumbled as she looked at Chase. "I'm just afraid he might not accept me for being pregnant right now before he even joined the pack."

Chase wrapped a paw around her, holding her in his embrace. "I'll bet, the moment you tell him about it, he will be more than happy with you!" he reassured. He spotted Ajax walk up to the edge of the stage and stare at him. Chase nodded. "Ceremony's going to begin, why don't you come sit with us over here," he said, guiding her to his family. He took a seat by Everest and Zoe sat next to him.

Ajax took one final look at Chase before raising his paw, silencing the crowd. "Thank you all for coming! Today is a great day for our pack for two reasons," he said holding up two toes. "One, we have the chance at adding a new individual to our family. Second, I have decided to announce the next pack member to take my place as leader after I have died." He took a chance to eyeball Chase. "But before we introduce our new pack mate. I just want to delve into the reasoning behind him wanting to join."

Chase nodded, it was going as planned. But when Chase and Ajax talked earlier that day, they never got to the very important topic Ajax wanted to talk to him about. "He'll tell me later, I'm sure of it," he whispered quietly as he returned to Ajax's speech.

A few minutes has passed and Ajax was still going strong. "And that day was a blessing. We got our pack member, Chase," he said pointing at Chase, which made the crowd go crazy. Ajax held his paw in the air to silence them. "But that was the day that I realized that we needed someone like him. And we got him alright! And this is where our new pack member comes into play. Everyone, please welcome our new pack member, Atlas."

Everyone began to cheer as Atlas came out of the cave and down the center of the crowd. As he passed through, wolves stepped aside and dipped their heads to him. A few patted his back as he passed. Atlas jumped up onto the stage and stood next to Ajax.

"Before we get started, I want to ask Atlas some questions, if that's fair. Don't worry they won't affect his chances of joining the pack." He said taking a seat by Atlas. "Atlas, what are your plans after you are officially brought into the pack?"

Atlas smiled. "Well, I want to learn all there is to know about live in a pack. Something I'm clearly not familiar with," he joked, which earned a chuckle from the crowd.

Ajax laughed with him. "Good answer!" he exclaimed. "Next question. What would you like your job in the pack to be? Something that you could do every single day without growing bored of it."

"I actually never took that to thought," he admitted. "I hope that isn't a bad thing!"

Ajax shook his head. "Not a bad thing at all, not many others can think of what they want to do," he explained. "Last question, I promise! Even though he is your friend, would you accept Chase as a leader of the pack?"

Chase gasped. He was beginning to figure out what Ajax was going to tell him. He was going to ask Chase to be the next leader of the pack.

Atlas made eye contact with Chase. "In all the years that I have worked with Chase, I have learned a lot from him and he has always had my back. So it is time for me to return the favor and have his back." Atlas nodded proudly. "Yes, I would accept him as a leader."

Ajax turned to look at Chase. "Chase, Can you come up on stage please?"

Chase glanced over at Everest, who gave him a nod of approval. He quickly hopped up on stage. "What's this about. Ajax?"

"Chase, I want you to be the next leader of my pack!" exclaimed Ajax. "It's what I was going to tell you earlier but I didn't get a chance to do it."

Chase was shocked. "Are you serious? I haven't been in the pack that long, surely you must have thought someone else." He had been in the pack only a month, not long enough to know everything there was about the pack. "Please tell me I am right?"

Ajax shook his head sadly. "Chase, there is a reason I chose you as my successor. You are the only recruit to ever achieve Alpha status almost immediately after joining. You've shown great strength, honesty, bravery, and leadership. Many others will agree with me, you'd be a great leader."

Chase looked at the crowd, amazed to see all the approving faces. Some of them shaking as they hoped Chase said yes. "Well, it seems I got no other choice now do I," he said happily, turning to look at Ajax. "I accept the position."

"Very well!" He turned to the crowd. "Then it is settled, Chase is the new second in command." The crowd began to cheer their approval which made Ajax surprised. They are okay with having a non-wolf as their next leader, he thought. He pat Chase on the back. "You may return to your seat, Chase. You're no longer needed up here."

Chase nodded in understanding and made his way off the stage, getting a "congratulations" from Atlas. And he returned to his original seat next to Everest and Zoe.

Ajax looked at Atlas. "Sorry about that, thought of it last minute," he apologized.

Atlas shrugged. "You had good intentions behind it, I can respect that."

"Alright then. Do you have any last thoughts before we continue?" asked Ajax loud enough for the crowd to hear.

"No!" answered Atlas rather quickly. "I'm ready"

Ajax nodded. "Atlas, do you promise to defend and honor the code of the pack even in the event that you are killed?"

"I do"

"Do you swear to defend those in need including both strong and weak, young and old?"

"I do"

"And do you promise to always assist in any way you can even though it might be something you don't specialize in?"

"I do"

"Very well, then by the power vested in me and the power of those around you, I accept you into this pack as a friend and a new family member. Welcome, Atlas. May your life prosper and bring happiness to us all."

"May your life prosper and bring happiness to us all," repeated the crowd as they welcomed their new pack member.

Atlas slowly began to cry happy tears. Which made Zoe hop up on stage and hug him tightly followed closely by a kiss. "Thanks, I needed that!"

Zoe hugged him tighter. "I'm so proud of you. I love you Atlas," she said sweetly.

"I love you too, Zoe," responded Atlas.

Zoe was still hugging Atlas when she noticed Chase looking at her. Chase nodded, reminding her of their agreement. Zoe nodded back and broke off from the hug. "Can we talk in private? There is something important that I have to tell you."

Atlas nodded. "Okay, we'll go to the recovery den. No ones in there right?"

Zoe shook her head confidently. "No, at least there shouldn't be. But we should be alright!"

"Lead the way," said Atlas holding is paw out for her to start going. As they made their way off the stage, they bumped into Chase. "Hey Chase, what's up?"

Chase smiled. "Oh, you know I got to welcome my best friend into the pack," he stated. He did a quick bro hug with Atlas. "Welcome home, buddy!" he looked at Zoe, who winked. "It looks like you two have someplace to be. When you are done with that, would you mind meeting me up on the cliff?"

Atlas froze. The same cliff that Chase was going to kill himself on. But Zoe didn't know about what happened earlier that morning. "I'll be up there as soon as I can, would you prefer I came alone?"

Chase nodded. "As much as I want to see all of us up there, I just need some one on one time," he explained.

"Fair enough, I'll see you up there!" he said as Zoe began directing him through the crowd.

"And Atlas," called out Chase.

Atlas turned to look at his friend.

"Good luck!" he said blankly as he pushed his way through the crowd.

Zoe was tugging on his paw. "Come on, let's go," she implored.

"I'm coming," he said following her to the den.

* * *

In the recovery den, they found no one in sight. No wolves in recovery nests or any of the other two healers. Zoe led Atlas to the middle of the cave, where the mini-pond was. The crystal clear water chilled and smooth.

Atlas took a seat by the pond, seeing his reflection when he looked down. "So what is it that you had to tell me…..oof," he said as he was pummeled to the ground.

Zoe had tackled him to the ground and began attacking him with kisses.

Atlas loathed her when she was like this; very kinky. Kind of turned him on but not this time. He stopped kissing her and looked into her green eyes. "Is that what you were going to tell me?" he smiled.

Zoe shook her head. "No, it is something way more exciting than that," she explained. She got off and began to rub her belly.

Atlas watched her rubbing her belly but wasn't getting the picture. "Are you hungry? We could've gotten something to eat before we came here." _What the hell is she trying to tell me?_

Zoe laughed. "No silly, besides I'm not hungry. But that isn't why I'm rubbing my belly. Let me ask you a question. What else besides food can a female have right here?" she said pointing to her belly.

Atlas still had a confused look on his face. Females could have anything there like the small and large Intestine, liver, kidneys…..uterus. His eyes went wide when he realized what she was talking about. "Are you what I think you are?"

Zoe smiled as she continued to rub her belly. "Atlas, you're going to be a…," she began

"Father!" he interrupted. "You're pregnant?"

Zoe nodded. "Yes!" she cried happily.

Atlas couldn't believe his ears. His breathing was becoming shallow as his mind couldn't take it. He collapsed to the ground and began to cry.

"Atlas, why are you crying?" whimpered Zoe. She was at his side holding him. "Aren't you happy for us?"

Atlas sniffed his nose. "I am, I just….I just wasn't expecting you to say that." He looked into her eyes. "How far along are you?"

Zoe began to try and remember when she first started getting signals of pregnancy. "About three weeks. I just didn't want to tell you just yet." She dropped her head. "I thought you would have been ashamed of me."

Atlas got up on his feet and held her in his embrace. "I would never be mad at something like that." He began to laugh. "We're going to be parents," he said unbelievably.

"Yes silly!" she laughed. She began to kiss him.

For once Atlas could feel at home with the pack. He was where he belonged.

Home!

* * *

Chase stood on the edge of the cliff. The cold breeze coming down the mountain ruffled his fur, making him shiver. The sun shined down on him, counteracting the cold. His mind was thinking about earlier that day when he nearly took his life.

 _What was I thinking?_

 _What would my family have thought of me?_

 _I almost ruined their lives forever!_

He looked out to the ocean. "If I did do it, I wouldn't get to wake up to a view like this." He heard a sound behind him: footsteps. He turned to see Atlas, who had a big smile on his face. _Oh, she told him alright_ , he thought. Chase smiled at Atlas. "I see you took the news well."

"You knew didn't you," said Atlas. "When did she tell you?"

"She told me before the ceremony," he responded. "I told her to tell you about it."

"I'm glad you did. It makes wanting to live here easier," Atlas explained taking a seat by Chase. He began to look out at the distant horizon. "It's really beautiful up here!'

"It really is," breathed Chase.

Atlas looked at Chase. "Were you actually going to do it?"

Chase drooped his head. "I don't know," he sighed. "It seemed like the right thing to do at first but now I'm unsure."

"Well, I hope you take the route of life. You have pups on the way," Atlas explained. "They'll need a father….they'll need you."

Chase nodded slowly. "I know," he responded.

Atlas didn't know what to say but he knew what to do. He set aside his pride and dignity and hugged Chase. "Promise me as your friend to not think or attempt to try and kill yourself. I've lost a lot of friends and family in my life but I've gotten over them. But if I lost you, life wouldn't be the same ever again. You're more than a best friend Chase. You're my brother!"

Chase sniffed. "Do you mean that?"

Atlas nodded. "I do," he said holding out his paw. "Brother"

Chase took his paw and shook it. "Then it is settled, taking my life isn't the way to go. I promise you."

"Thanks, buddy," whispered Atlas looking into Chase's brown eyes. "Welcome home, Chase"

"Welcome home Atlas," Chase responded, looking into Atlas's green eyes.

And the two brothers sat on the cliff, staring out into the horizon. Admiring its beauty it had to share with them. Their old lives behind them and pushed aside. This was there home and nothing could nor would change that. They heard a snap behind them and they turned their heads to see who or what it was. It was their families: Everest, Zoe, Ajax, Cody, Jax and Holly. They all clustered together in one group and Ajax was the first to approach them.

"What! You thought we were going to let you guys be up here alone?" joked Ajax.

"Well we were hoping to get alone time but that can wait for another day," explained Chase.

Ajax laughed. "Good luck with that! I'll be keeping an eye on you two."

"Well since you are all here, we can say things that have been needed to be said for a while now. Chase and Atlas dipped their heads to Ajax. "Thank you for this opportunity, Ajax," said Atlas.

"No!" exclaimed Ajax. "Thank you for this opportunity. You two have shown more courage and strength more than any other recruit I have ever seen. You two have my blessing and my respect." He stepped back to the group to be replaced with Cody and Jax.

"Dad, I just want to thank you for accepting my relationship with Cody. I might not be the son you asked for but I'd still love you otherwise," thanked Jax.

"Jax, you'll always be my first son. Like I said before, I'd love you if you loved a squirrel," explained Chase.

Jax looked at Atlas. "Atlas, you were the backbone behind me telling my dad about my relationship. Thank you," he said hugging both of them.

Cody joined in as well but said nothing as they both returned to the group. Holly was up next.

"Dad, you scared me earlier today. I thought I was going to lose you. You may not have been there when I needed you most but I'm glad you're here now. Pretty much, what I am saying is that….I love you, dad," she explained hugging Chase.

"Holly, you are by far the best daughter that a father could ever have asked for!" whispered Chase.

Holly nodded and walked back to her brother, who held her.

Next came the pregnant mates, both happy to see their husbands and fathers to their children. They kissed and held one another in an embrace. Everest looked Chase in the eyes and Zoe looked Atlas in the eyes.

"I couldn't have found a better mate to start a family with," breathed Zoe. "Thank you for being able to do that for me. I love you Atlas."

"I love you, too," he responded. "If Chase hadn't of invited me on this trip, I wouldn't have known of this life."

"Chase, I'm glad you were able to find me after so long," said Everest. "I'm glad I went out with you when we were younger. Those were some of the best years of my life but the best memories have been with you here, with the pack," she explained.

"I'm just glad I was able to find you. Without a tip from a stranger, I would've lost all hope," explained Chase. "And I can't wait for these little munchkins to come out," he said rubbing Everest's slightly swollen belly.

Everest scoffed. "I can," she joked. "That day when Jax and Holly came into the world was one of the most memorable and the most painful."

Zoe whined. "Oh, I'm starting to wish I didn't have sex with Atlas now," she groaned. "But, I think it'll be worth the pain.," she said taking Atlas's paw.

"Hey you guys," said Holly. "Look," she said pointing to the distant horizon.

Everyone turned their heads to the horizon. The sun was going down making the sky turn a wide array of colors; red, purple, yellow, orange. Chase turned his head to look at Ajax. "Hey, Ajax," he called out. "I know it isn't a full moon but would howl be reasonable at this moment."

"Oh, we really have to kill that stereotype," he grumbled. "Wolves howl at all times of the day so no it wouldn't be a problem at all."

Chase dipped his head and walked to stand on the edge of the cliff. Atlas walked up and stood next to him. Followed closely by Jax and Cody. Then followed by Everest and Zoe. And finally followed by Holly and Ajax. The group stood shoulder to shoulder, staring out at the setting sun.

And Chase looked left, seeing Zoe, Cody, and Holly. He then looked right, seeing Atlas, Everest, Jax and Ajax. "Well the sun won't be around long, so here it goes." Chase sucked in a lot of air, mentally prepared for what to do next. He dipped his head and shot it into the sky and began to howl while closing his eyes. Everyone else followed closely behind.

Their howls rang across the forest.

Sending a message to all living creatures that they won't be messed with.

Chase opened his eyes to see the sun slowly and effortlessly sink into the sea. Leaving the group with a beautiful array of stars. Their twinkling bringing joy to them all. Chase surveyed over his family and was happy the results.

 _I am home!_

(Camera fade out into white, projecting 'The End' in beautiful cursive)

* * *

 **THE END!**

 **I can't believe I wrote as much as I did! Over 12,000 words! Thank you all for making this story as successful as it was. Like I said in prior chapters, this story was only continued because of its amazing support. NEW QUESTIONS!**

 **WERE YOU OKAY WITH THE EXTRA LONG CHAPTER? WAS IT OVERWHELMING OR WAS IT EASY TO COMPREHEND?**

 **DID THE ENDING SEEM TACKED ON OR DID IT WORK FOR THE SITUATION?**

 **ON A SCALE OF ONE TO TEN, HOW WOULD YOU RATE THIS STORY?**

 **IF I WERE TO ASK FOR NAMES FOR THE NEW PUPS, WOULD YOU ALL HELP ME WITH THAT? (IF SO, PLEASE LEAVE A MALE AND FEMALE NAME IN YOUR REVIEW)**

 **SHOULD I CONTINUE WITH LONG STORIES OR SHOULD I DIAL IT DOWN TO LETS SAY TEN CHAPTERS MAX?**

 **That's all the questions I thought of. Now, it's time to get into military mode and begin writing my new story: K9 Special Forces: A War Dog Story. Premiering May 1st. Keep on the lookout for that story and I'll see you all then. I'll maybe post a another chapter in this story to show off the squad members in that story, but it's a maybe, I haven't decided. If you want to know about them, tell me. Thanks for getting me this far and I'll see you guys in the next one.**

 **This is Atlas Actual signing off!**


End file.
